Take Me Out To The Ball Game
by lynalexandria
Summary: ONE-SHOT. Fitz is a star baseball player for the Washington Nationals and Olivia's nephew just signed up for their little league team. She has her reservations about him. Will Fitz be able to change her opinion on him?
1. Chapter 1

**NSFW**

* * *

'And that' Fitz said as he readjusted the cap on his head. 'is how I throw a sinker.' he looked upon the small crowd of boys, ages 5-8, and couldn't help but smile warmly at them. He had a feeling that none of them had a clue what a sinker was even after explaining it 20 times but he was obligated to be out there and show them something.

Fitzgerald Grant was the star pitcher for the Washington Nationals and, for now, had the entire world under his cleats. The previous season he had managed to break records and gather international attention to himself and his team. He was also voted most handsome player in the MLB but he definitely didn't like to think or brag about that. It almost made him blush when he thought about a bunch of people looking at pictures and rating him. He had even gotten a few letters from women saying that they pleasured themselves while thinking about him but he had thrown those all away.

He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't a bit of a playboy, though. He had been single for a long time and at this point in his career women were basically throwing themselves at him. Of course he was always polite and courteous but as soon as dinner was over they'd go to her place and he'd leave when she fell asleep. He didn't plan on having casual hookups for the rest of his life but he was certainly enjoying himself now.

Because of his overnight popularity the owners of the team had been parading him around like some type of show monkey. Today he was at the little league practice to take pictures with the boys and sign autographs or whatever else he needed to do. It wasn't that he hated it; he just saw better uses of his time. This would be the only practice he was required to go to so he didn't complain.

Unlike the kids that stood before him, he hadn't grown up rich. His father was a pastor that died before his time and his mother was a writer desperate to make ends meet. She fell ill when he was 17 and died shortly after his 18th birthday. From there he got a full scholarship to college because of baseball and then played in the minor leagues for a while. Now at the age of 30, he figured he had another 4 years before he had to retire.

The 50 boys that stood before him had actually made the day pretty fun for him, though. They were at an age where they thought they knew exactly what they wanted out of life and yet knew nothing at all. Each and every one of them screamed that they wanted to play professional baseball when they grew up but obviously that was impossible. The odds of any of them even making it to the minor leagues were slim but their optimism brought him joy.

Actually, the odds of them all making it through the entire summer camp were slim. Usually they only stayed long enough to take a few nice photos or play in a game or two and then they wanted to quit. He couldn't say he blamed them, though. It was a sweltering summer in DC and he was positive that they would all be having a better time playing in the sprinklers in the courtyard near the park.

'Alright, now who wants to take a picture with Tommy?' the little league coach asked the boys, using the nickname that the fans had given him.

After everyone shouted 'me' in unison, they were all ushered into a straight line. After signing autographs and answering questions, Fitz headed off to the locker rooms to take a quick shower. His friends had managed to persuade him to go on a blind date tonight so he needed to start getting ready for that if he wanted to make it on time.

He stood in front of his assigned locker and was starting to get undressed when he heard somebody open the door. He was the only player there today so the sound caught him off guard and he nearly stumbled when he turned around. Standing at the door with his hands hidden bashfully behind his back was one of the little boys from the little league team.

Fitz cocked an eyebrow. He loved children and wanted to have a few of his own at some point but he had little to no experience with them and he found interacting kind of difficult. 'What are you doing in here, kid?' he said, his tone a bit more gruff than necessary.

His fair skinned cheeks turned a bright shade of red and he looked down at his cleats. He wasn't expecting for anybody to be in here and now he was embarrassed about being caught. 'I— I um..'

He put his hands on his hips, not realizing how intimidated the boy was. 'Speak up. Shouldn't you be out there waiting on your parents to pick you up?'

'Ya.' he said softly before reaching up to play with his left ear. It was a nervous habit of his that he had since he was a baby and he had never been able to kick it.

'Then what are you doing in the locker room?' he prodded. 'You know you're not supposed to be in here.'

'I wanted to see what it looked like.' he muttered under his breath, still too nervous to look up at him.

Fitz sighed and walked towards the boy then kneeled down so that he could be eye level with him. 'What's your name, kid?'

'Nicolas.' he said, still not looking up.

'Well, Nicolas, usually you have to look up when you talk to somebody so they can see you.' he held his hand out to him. 'Shake my hand like a man.'

Nicolas bit down on his bottom lip before picking his head up. His eyes were wide and he had long eyelashes with hazel colored iris'. He had brown freckles that covered his cheeks and the bridge of his nose and curly brown hair that had been neatly put into a ponytail. He studied Fitz's hand for a few moments before taking it and shaking it as firmly as possible.

'Ow! Ow!' Fitz facetiously cringed as if he was shaking it too hard.

A wide smile took over his face, showcasing the dimples in his cheeks, then he burst into a fit of laughter. He grabbed Fitz's hand with both of his and squeezed down as hard as he could, making him howl as if he was in some type of pain.

'You're strong, Nicolas.' he huffed and rubbed his hand. 'You almost broke my pitching hand.'

'You think I'm strong?' he asked, glancing down at his arm and flexing his muscle. He smiled again as he saw the small bicep flex under his skin.

Fitz held back his chuckle and nodded his head. 'Very strong. Now, I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you so we should probably go find them. And you shouldn't be wandering off without telling anyone. What if you had gotten hurt?'

'I wasn't going to get hurt.' his shoulders shrugged as if he just had all the answers.

'Did any of your friends follow you in here?' he asked, glancing behind him to make sure there were no more stray kids coming down the hall to the locker room.

'Those kids aren't my friends.' he grumbled.

'Why not?' his eyebrows furrowed. 'Those are your teammates so you all need to learn to get along if you plan on winning anything.'

'Because this morning when we all met each other Jaden told all the other boys that I have cooties on my face and if they talk to me then they'll get it to.' he huffed then pointed to the array of freckles on his skin. 'But they're not cooties, I promise.'

'I believe you, bud.' he held back a smirk and shook his head. He had almost forgotten how immature kids could be at that age. 'I'll be your friend.'

'Really?' his eyes lit up as if he had just won the lottery. 'You want to be friends with me?'

'Ya.' he grinned and held his fist out to him.

'Aw, man, everybody is going to be so jealous of me!' he said then smashed his fist against Fitz's.

Before he could say anything else he heard footsteps rushing towards their direction. One of them sounded like tennis shoes but the other pair was a pair of women's heels. He stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. Obviously whoever running down the hall was in search of Nicolas.

In the next few moments the door to the locker room burst open and in came the little league coach. He sighed with relief when he saw Nicolas standing there safe and sound. 'Nicolas there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!'

'Nicolas wandered in here a few minutes ago.' Fitz explained, trying not to laugh at the coach's beet red face.

He sighed and poked his head outside of the door. 'He's in here!' he yelled before stepping out of the locker room to go back to where the other kids were.

Next came in the woman who Fitz had to assume was Nicolas' mother. She stood at around 5'4 but the heels on her Jimmy Choo sandals gave the illusion of her being much taller. She was wearing a pair of dark washed jeans that she had cuffed at the bottom and a white, long sleeved button down. Her hair fell to her shoulders in big curls and she wore a very minimal amount of makeup.

Fitz's jaw dropped as she brushed past him to reach Nicolas. She smelled absolutely heavenly and the scent lingered in his nostrils as he watched them interact. He found himself in utter disbelief that an actual _goddess_ had just so casually walked right past him as if she wasn't the most beautiful woman on earth.

Well, maybe he was exaggerating the goddess part just a little.

'Nicki!' she said, dropping to her knees and hugging the boy's neck tightly then kissing his cheek repeatedly. 'Where have you been?'

'Auntie.' he huffed and tried pushing her off of him, embarrassed that Fitz was watching her coddle him. It was hard to act tough and manly covered in light purple lipstick. 'My friend is watching.' he mumbled lowly to her.

She sighed and grabbed his shoulders, inspecting him for any damage. 'Don't scare me like that again!'

'Sorry.' he said, his tone sincere. He really didn't mean to scare anyone. He just really wanted to see what the inside of the locker room looked like.

Fitz took a step closer to the pair and lightly cleared his throat to get their attention. Olivia took to her feet and straightened out her outfit before outstretching her hand to his. 'And you are?'

He raised his eyebrows slightly. It was rare these days that people didn't recognize him, especially women, so this caught him off guard. 'Fitzgerald Grant. I play for the team.' he said as he reached to shake her head.

 _God, even her skin is soft._

'Aren't you too big for little league?' she asked, nearly snorting at her own joke. She had long accepted that she had a very corny sense of humor.

'Auntie Liv!' Nicolas hissed lowly and elbowed her thigh in an attempt to get her to stop. He really didn't want to be embarrassed in front of Fitz but she wasn't helping the situation.

'I just hit my growth spurt a little earlier than the rest of the kids.' he said, feigning offense.

The adults shared a little laugh while Nicolas hid his face in his hands. He wasn't able to tell that Fitz was obviously flirting with his aunt and he really wanted the situation to be over. Being kissed all over your face in front of your favorite baseball player was a traumatic experience for him.

'And your name is..?' Fitz inquired.

'Olivia Pope.' she said with a smile. 'And obviously you've met my nephew Nicki.' she said, gesturing down to Nicolas.

Nicolas' cheeks turned a bright red as he realized she called him by his nickname. His family had been calling him that for years but in his opinion it sounded like a baby name. He quickly moved to stand between the two of them and rested his back on Olivia's legs as he tried backing her out of the room.

'She meant Nicolas! My name is Nicolas!' he said, correcting her and grunting as he couldn't get her to move.

'Nicolas.' she said sternly. 'Stop it. We're having a conversation.' she said, grabbing his shoulders and holding him still.

Fitz smirked. 'I did. He wandered in here after baseball practice because he wanted to see what the locker room looked like in person. We're friends now. Right, bud?' he asked, holding his fist down to Nicolas again.

Nicolas smiled widely and balled up his fingers then hit it against Fitz's hand. 'Fitz taught us how to throw a sinker ball today at practice.'

Olivia's nose scrunched up cutely and Fitz thought he would melt where he stood. She had no idea what a sinker ball was and had a feeling she'd be even more confused if someone tried to explain it to her. 'That sounds really exciting.'

'We had a great time.' Fitz nodded his head in confirmation. 'So, Olivia, what do you and Nicolas have planned for the rest of the day?'

'Well, I think that we're going to go home and get out of these sweaty clothes then maybe go the trampoline park.' she said, ruffling Nicolas' curls but her eyes not leaving Fitz's. 'And, maybe, we'll stop my the store and pick up that new Power Rangers toy but I'm not sure yet.'

His jaw clenched together when he thought about a sweaty Olivia going home and taking her clothes off and having a shower. Obviously she was referring to Nicolas but that still didn't keep the image from popping up in his head. He shook those thoughts out as quickly as possible so that he could continue the conversation without any obvious signs of arousal.

'Wow.' he said as if he was absolutely amazed. 'That sounds like a very fun day. Nicolas I think you have a good aunt.'

'I do.' he nodded his head, a huge grin now on his face. At this point he'd agree to anything that came out of Fitz's mouth. 'She's the best aunt.'

'The best aunt?' he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. 'That sounds like a hard title to keep.'

'Heavy is the head that bears the crown.' she shrugged her shoulders and giggled.

'Well,' he said, shifting his weight to one leg and pushing his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. 'would the world's best aunt be interested in joining me for a drink sometime? Maybe when you're not as busy.'

Olivia blushed at the request. She could tell that Fitz was flirting with her, it was pretty obvious, but she didn't know he'd be bold enough to ask her out. He was an extremely handsome man but she really didn't think they'd connect well. She had heard way too many stories about how professional athletes were after one thing and one thing only and she wasn't into flings.

'How flattering.' she said softly, punctuating it with a small smile.

'So is that a yes or a no?' he questioned hopefully.

'It was very nice of you to offer but I'm going to have to decline.' she replied, her tone apologetic and even. 'Thank you, though.'

Fitz frowned. He wasn't used to being turned down for a date so this served as a cold bucket of water to his ego. 'No? Is there anything I could do to persuade you to change your answer?'

She smirked. 'You don't even know if I'm single.'

'You're right.' he nodded. 'But I'm a religious man and I'm praying that there's nobody else waiting on you at home.' he said lowly.

'There's nobody at Auntie's house!' Nicolas chimed in, still not realizing that Fitz was trying to ask his aunt out on a date. 'You can come over if you want!'

Olivia pursed her lips together to keep from laughing. She glanced down at Nicolas, tickled by his outburst. 'Don't you have something else to do other than be in grown people's business?'

'Sorry.' he mumbled.

She sucked her teeth and shook her head and turned her attention back to Fitz. 'I don't think there's much you can do to change my mind about this. I don't really drink, anyway.'

'Alright, but I'm sure that you eat. What about dinner instead?' he smiled hopefully. 'We can go wherever you'd like.'

'I really don't think that'd be a good idea.' she said contritely. 'Again, thank you for the offer.'

Fitz sighed but nodded his head. 'Well, if you change your mind then you know where to find me.'

'Ya. In a crowded stadium full of fans.' she snorted sarcastically.

'Olivia—' he started, his tone low and a little suggestive. 'If you have to get to me then I don't care how many fans are here.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' she blushed but shot him a small smile before lightly tapping Nicolas' shoulders. 'Let's get home, bud.'

'Bye!' he yelled and waved at Fitz, grinning ear to ear and showing off the spot where he was missing a tooth. 'I'll see you later!'

Fitz smiled sadly and waved back and watched them leave. There was the woman of his dreams walking away from him and he couldn't even get her phone number.

* * *

'Alright, what about this one?' Olivia asked as she modeled the 30th dress of the night. She had a blind date tonight and she wanted to look drop dead gorgeous. She hadn't had much luck with dating in the past few months but she was feeling optimistic about tonight.

Abbey rolled her eyes and looked up from her magazine. She was going to be babysitting Nicholas while Olivia went out tonight but she had gotten tired of watching her try dresses on. 'Dear Lord this was dress #2! You've run out of options!'

She sighed and looked in her full length mirror. It was a periwinkle bodycon dress that had been sitting in the back of her closet for months. She had purposely bought it a size too small to help motivate her to lose a few extra pounds and it had worked. She did a small turn to see the way her behind looked and poked her bottom lip out. 'This doesn't look too inappropriate? Maybe I should lose 5 more pounds and try it again.'

'Woman! That's the dress you need to wear!' Abbey hissed before standing to her feet and walking over to Olivia's closet. She pulled out the nude pumps that she knew would perfectly match the outfit and set them at her feet. 'This Edison guy is going to die when he sees you. You look gorgeous.'

Her jaw dropped. 'You've never met him?'

'No.' she shrugged her shoulders. 'All I know is that he works with Leo.'

'Oh, God.' she huffed before running her hands through her big, bouncy curls.

'Hey, hey.' Abbey hissed and grabbed her hands. Along with being her best friend, she was occasionally Olivia's makeup artist and hair stylist. 'I just finished curling that.'

'Abbey I thought you knew this guy! What if he's an asshole?'

'Well, then you come home and we drink and talk shit about him.' she grinned. 'Liv you'll be fine. This is the first date in 4 months so this is really just to get your feet wet!' Abbey reasoned.

Olivia groaned loudly. 'Is it too late to cancel?'

'Yes.' she laughed. 'Nicholas come here!' she called out to him from the living room.

Nicholas ran into the bedroom a few moments later already dressed in his Spiderman pajamas. His long hair was in two braids and he smelled like Olivia's coconut body wash. It wasn't that he didn't have his own, he just really liked the way hers smelled. He had an iPad in his hands and they had obviously disturbed his cartoon time.

'Yes?' he groaned.

'Doesn't your aunt look nice tonight?' Abbey asked with a smile before making Olivia do a twirl.

'Yes.' Nicholas cocked his head to the side curiously. 'Are you going out on a date?'

'Yes, Nicki.' she sighed and walked back over to the mirror to fluff her hair out.

'With Tommy?' he asked hopefully.

'Tommy?' Abbey crossed her arms. 'Who's Tommy?'

Olivia's face scrunched up. She didn't pay much attention to sports or celebrity news so she had no idea who Nicholas was talking about. 'I'm not sure.'

'My friend! The baseball player we met today!' he huffed then marched over to where Abbey was standing. 'He plays for the Nats and he asked auntie out to dinner.'

Abbey raised her eyebrows. 'Excuse me? Tommy, the most eligible bachelor in DC, asked you out on a date and you didn't even say anything?'

'I don't know anybody named Tommy.' she rolled her eyes.

'His real name is Fitz Grant.' Abbey pressed, trying to refresh her memory.

'Oh, him!' she snapped her fingers as she realized who they were talking about. 'We met him today. He was at Nicki's baseball camp.'

'Did you at least get his number?' she asked before grabbing Olivia's clutch off of the bed and handing it off to her.

'No.' she shook her head and grabbed it then went to kiss Nicholas' cheek. 'He told me if I changed my mind then I knew where to find him. I don't think I like the idea of dating some celebrity athlete though.'

Abbey's eyes rolled. 'You don't know what you like.'

Olivia snorted and kissed Abbey's forehead. 'Goodnight, lovebugs. I'll see you in the morning.'

'Night, auntie!' Nicholas said, not bothering to look up from the game on his tablet.

* * *

Fitz was sitting across from Millicent Vaughn, a young business analyst for the White House, trying to look invested as she talked to him about her day. It wasn't that what she was saying wasn't _interesting_ , he just wasn't _interested_. His mind had been on one person all day and he really wasn't paying much attention to anything or anybody that wasn't Olivia Pope.

As soon as she walked out of the locker room earlier that day he obviously went to Google her. The first thing that showed up was her social media pages and he had to fight the urge not to follow all of her accounts. He didn't want to seem like a stalker but he needed to find a way to grab her attention, too.

'And that's how I got my job at the White House.' she said, finishing her story with a perky smile.

'What?' Fitz nearly jumped as her voice brought him out of his thoughts. He sighed and gave her an apologetic look. 'I'm so sorry. I have a lot on my mind and I guess I kind of zoned out.' he said before reaching to take a sip of his wine.

'Oh, its alright.' she nodded her head in his direction then reached for the dessert menu on the table. They had finished their meals already and the evening was winding down.

Mellie was no idiot and she knew that Fitz obviously had something else on his mind all night. He had barely said a word to her and she had to almost force him to give her any information about himself. Of course she had heard about his reputation but their mutual friend, Elizabeth, had assured her that he'd be on his best behavior tonight.

'So they have this really good creme brûlée that I've had a few times.' she digressed and turned the menu around so that he could see the picture of it.

'That sounds good.' he simply shrugged. 'So um, you really like it?' he asked, trying to make conversation.

'Ya.' she laughed awkwardly then quickly flagged the waiter down. She was definitely going to need another drink to get through the rest of the night.

Fitz looked down at his mostly untouched food on his plate and pushed it around with his fork. He knew he was rude to simply sit there and sulk but he couldn't help himself. The only reason he hadn't cancelled earlier that day was because Elizabeth wouldn't let him but now he was having a terrible time. He was brought out of his thoughts again when Mellie reached and touched his hand.

'Do you want dessert?' she asked then gestured to the waiter who was clearly waiting on his response.

'Oh, no.' he shook his head. 'I don't eat a lot of sweets.'

Mellie sighed and turned back to the waiter. 'Just another glass of pinot grigio, please.' she said, handing over her wine glass. After the gentleman left, she turned her attention back to Fitz. 'Is everything alright, Tommy?'

His nose slightly crinkled at the use of his nickname. All of his friends and extended family called him Fitz while his fans referred to him as Tommy. It just seemed so impersonal to have her call him that. She just seemed like another woman in the crowd chanting his name. 'I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff.'

'Mmm.' she hummed and sat back in her seat and tried to come up with something else for them to talk about.

Fitz was tempted to just ask for the check so that he could leave. Not only did he not want to be there but he could tell that he was ruining the night for her. Right before he could flag the waiter down again the doors of the restaurant opened and it caught his attention. He nearly melted when he saw Olivia come through the doors of the restaurant with another man.

He stared intently at them with his jaw clenched as he led her through the restaurant to a booth that happened to be right across from theirs. The man helped her sit in her seat before going over to his side and picking his menu up. Fitz seemed calm and collected on the outside but on the inside he was screaming.

 _What's this guy have that I don't have?_

Olivia was looking down at her menu and going through her options when she sensed a pair of eyes on her. Her jaw almost dropped as she caught eyes with Fitz in a both across from another woman. She quickly looked back down to her menu, her face heated. It was just her luck that she would get caught out on a date after rejecting him earlier. Obviously she had nothing to be ashamed of, she was a grown woman and could be with whoever she pleased, but it was more than just a little awkward.

Mellie had been typing something on her phone but when she looked up she could see Fitz's gaze elsewhere. She turned to see what he was staring so intently at then saw Olivia. She sucked her teeth and scoffed as she realized that clearly this woman was the reason she couldn't get any of his attention tonight.

'She's pretty.' she said, grabbing his attention.

Fitz blushed as he realized how rude it was to stare at another woman while on a date. 'Sorry, Millicent.'

'It's alright.' she waved the gesture off. 'I guess its best to find out on the first date and not the 31st.' she laughed humorlessly then cocked her head at him. 'But she's here with another man.'

'I know.' he grumbled.

'Well, you know they say that whatever is meant to be will happen when its ready.' she slid from her seat in the booth and stood to her feet. 'Thanks for dinner, Tommy. I hope you find what you're looking for.'

'Thank you.' he gave a sincere smile as she straightened out her dress and walked out the restaurant.

Fitz sat there for a few moments just contemplating what his next move should be. The logical thing to do would've been to just pay his bill and walk out of the restaurant. She had already explained that she wasn't interested in going out with him so he should just count his losses and go.

But, Fitz didn't feel like using logic tonight.

Instead he sat back in his seat and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He didn't know exactly what sitting there would accomplish but he couldn't bring himself to get up and leave, either. Earlier that day when he looked through her social media pages he hadn't seen a sign of a boyfriend so he hoped that this was just a casual date.

'So Olivia,' Edison started, not noticing the small exchange of glances that Olivia and Fitz were sharing. 'Leo tells me that you're doing really well in the real estate business. Is that right?'

Olivia smiled sweetly and put her menu down so that they could make eye contact. She came to the restaurant a lot with clients so she already knew what she wanted. 'Leo likes to flatter me.' she said bashfully. 'I do alright for myself but—'

'Honestly I don't see how you do it.' he said, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. 'Real estate seems kind of boring, don't you think?' he asked, nose crinkling. 'I mean all you do is look at houses and things all day.'

'The work can be tedious at times but its really rewarding.' she commented, now feeling a little defensive. 'But I get to meet all types of people from different walks of life so that parts interesting.'

'I suppose.' he shrugged, still not seeing much merit in her opinion. 'My job allows me to travel all around the world, though. Just last year I was in South Africa working with a company there. Have you ever been to South Africa?'

'I cant say that I have.' she mumbled softly before quickly flagging the waiter down. She needed a drink and she needed it fast.

The waiter came over a few moments later with his pen and notebook in hand. 'Good evening. My name is Gregory and I'll be your server tonight. May I start you off with some drinks?'

'Yes, please.' Olivia said, shooting him an almost desperate look. 'A glass of Merlot would be great.'

Edison's nose slightly crinkled. 'Really? Merlot? What about moscato instead?'

She shot him a challenging look. 'I really prefer red. And moscato is more of a dessert wine I believe.'

'You should really try it.' he said, brushing off her comments. He turned his attention back to the waiter and smiled. 'Two glasses of white moscato. Your most expensive bottle.' Edison suggested with a wink.

Olivia sighed and sat back in her seat. She was trying to be optimistic about the date but things were quickly going from bad to worse. She handed Gregory her drink menu and waved him off to go get the moscato. Edison opened his mouth to say something but her eyes were drawn to Fitz sitting at his table alone.

In the back of her mind she wondered what it would've been like sitting across the table from him instead of Edison. She had to admit that he was definitely a charming man and she had caught herself smiling when she thought about him earlier. She just couldn't allow herself to get caught up with him. She knew his type, the handsome ones with more money than they knew to do with, and she didn't want to be another notch in his bedpost.

Fitz could feel her watching him. He straightened himself in his seat and raised his head from his phone to make eye contact with her. As soon as their gazes were locked he winked at her. Olivia's breath hitched and she looked away, embarrassed that she had gotten caught staring.

'Olivia, are you listening to me?' Edison said, grabbing her attention.

'Oh.' she sighed softly. 'Sorry about that. I guess I got kind of lost in my own thoughts.'

His nose crinkled but he shook her statement off. 'I was telling you that I was thinking about making a run for senator soon; maybe in the next few years. I want to start getting my face out there and meeting the voters.'

'That's a good idea.' she nodded her head in agreement. 'You definitely want the people to have a good feel for who you are—'

'Exactly! You get exactly what I'm saying!' he said excitedly, cutting off her sentence. 'But I need somebody at my side to do this.'

'What? Like a campaign manager?' she cocked her head to the side curiously, obviously not seeing where he was going with this.

Edison chuckled. 'I already have one of those. I was thinking more of a wife.'

Fitz had been listening in on their conversation and almost spit out the water he was drinking when the word 'wife' came out of Edison's mouth. He quickly looked to Olivia to see that her face had flushed and her eyes were wide. Obviously she was just as shocked as he was.

'Of course I don't mean right now.' Edison followed his previous statement in an attempt to ward off her obvious hesitation. 'But certainly within this year. Nobody wants to elect a single person to office. It'll make me look young and obnoxious. Like I'm out trying to sow my wild oats.'

Olivia nearly choked at the term 'wild oats'. Just as she thought her throat couldn't get any drier, the waiter returned with her wine. She didn't wait for Gregory to ceremoniously place the glass down in front of her but instead grabbed it right off of his tray and took three big gulps of it. Her gestures weren't lost of Edison but he watched her dramatics with his chin resting on his hand.

'I'll be honest with you, Olivia, I've looked you up and I like what I see. I think you'd look good on my arm during election season. We would make a good team.' he said, trying to reassure her. 'And I know it seems a little sudden but I could definitely make the deal worth your while.'

'Deal?' her eyebrows raised slightly. 'So this would just be some type of arranged sham?'

'Keep your voice down.' he whispered lowly, checking their surroundings and making sure no one was listening to them. 'It doesn't have to be a sham. It would be a deal.' he reiterated the word, still whispering. 'A good deal. A deal what would benefit both of us.'

'Edison I really don't think I like where this conversation is going. I—'

Before she could finish her sentence the waiter returned and stood at the end of the table. 'Are you all ready to order or do you need some more time.'

'We're ready.' Edison nodded his head in the man's direction and handed off both of their menus. Olivia's jaw dropped in shock of his forward behavior. 'We'll both have the filet mignon, cut into butterfly, with spinach on the side.'

'I don't need anyone ordering for me.' she hissed lowly as Gregory walked away.

'I'm sure you don't but I really wanted you to try their filet. It's the absolute best. They cook it to perfection every single time.' he smiled sweetly at her.

Olivia opened her mouth to say something but Edison's phone rang in his back pocket. He held his finger up, signaling her to wait a moment, and looked to see who was calling. He shot her an apologetic look. 'This is the office. I need to take it.' he said as he stood to his feet and walked to a more secluded area.

By this point Fitz had seen quite enough. He didn't have much of a plan but he preferred to make decisions on impulse, anyway. He stood from his booth and straightened his outfit before sauntering over to where Olivia was sitting. She was looking down at her glass of wine when he lightly touched her wrist, startling her.

Her breath hitched and she pressed her freehand to her chest. 'You scared me.'

'I can't be as scary as the guy you're here with tonight.' he shrugged his shoulders and shot her a lopsided grin.

She chuckled and shook her head then sucked her teeth. 'I suppose you're right.'

'Why don't we get out of here?' he suggested, nodding towards the exit behind him.

Olivia's jaw dropped and she looked at him as if he was turning purple, obviously flabbergasted at his proposal. 'I can't just get up and walk out.' she hissed incredulously.

'Why not?' he asked, cocking his head to the side. She was so cute when she got worked up about something.

'Because that would be rude.' she insisted.

'Olivia.' he said, his tone serious and low. 'He's been rude to you since you've been sitting here. He doesn't deserve your kindness or your patience. I can guaranty you'll have a much better time once you leave.'

She looked up at him, obviously considering his offer. She knew that Edison was being extremely crass and she definitely wasn't having a good time but she had never done anything as bold as just getting up and walking out on a date before. Olivia was raised to always be ladylike and graceful even when people didn't show her the same courtesy. Usually she would just endure the night, block the guy's number, and tell the story next time she saw Abbey. This was new territory for her.

'I know you want to.' he rumbled lowly because he could see it in her eyes. 'Let's be bad tonight. But you may want to go ahead and decide before Mr. Perfect decides to come back.'

Olivia bit down on her bottom lip and glanced around the restaurant to find Edison still on the phone with his back turned towards them. A small and coy smile started to form on her lips as she finally made her decision and she nodded then stood to her feet. He grinned widely and took hold of her hand, noting that it fit perfectly in his, then started rushing them towards the front doors before she changed her mind. Luckily he had already paid his tab and Edison would have to take care of whatever their table was responsible for since he was being such an ass.

She struggled to keep up with his long strides as they brushed through people in the lobby area but they eventually made it outside. Olivia burst into a fit of giggles as Fitz let go of her hand to give the valet his ticket so the young man could go and get his car. This was extremely out of character for her and she could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her body. He could only smirk and shake his head at her antics. He was honestly just happy to see her smiling again.

'I can't believe we're doing this.' she mumbled excitedly more to herself than to him as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

'Doesn't it feel good to be bad?' he questioned, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

'Maybe just a little.' she admitted with a smile as she looked over her shoulder to the doors of the restaurant. She wanted to make sure that they hadn't been followed out. 'He's going to be so mad when he found out I left.'

'Doesn't matter.' Fitz shrugged his shoulders. 'He was an ass.'

'So you were eavesdropping on our conversation?' she playfully accused.

'Absolutely.' he nodded his head in confirmation. 'I had to see what the competition was like.'

Olivia blushed but smiled and looked down at her feet. The valet came around moments later in Fitz's custom Maserati. It was black with dark tinted windows and a glass ceiling. The leather seats were brown with black trim and his initials FTGIII were embroidered into the floor mats. He took the keys from the valet and opened Olivia's door for her and helped her inside before walking around to the driver's side.

She was too busy checking the inside of the car out to notice that Edison had just rushed out of the restaurant to look for her. Fitz, on the other hand, made eye contact with him and shot him an apologetic smile before getting in the car and revving up the engine. If Edison wouldn't treat her the way she deserved to be treated then he would and he didn't feel bad at all.

By the time they pulled up to the first stoplight he still had a big smile on his face but when he glanced over at Olivia he could tell she was starting to have a few second thoughts. He needed to find something fun for them to do but he had no idea where to even start. It was way too late to get reservations to any of the nicer restaurants in town and plus he wanted their date to be different. He wanted to do something fun and relaxing in the hopes that she would open up more tonight. Still feeling in the moment, he slid his right hand over to her side and rested it on top of hers. He slowly intertwined their digits and was happy that she didn't immediately pull away.

Before the light could turn green somebody pulled up beside them on Olivia's side in an orange Camaro with dark tint. They revved their engine up loudly bringing their attention to them. Olivia cocked her head. 'Why are they doing that?'

'They want to race.' he shrugged.

Her jaw dropped. 'Right here? In the street? That's dangerous. Somebody could get hurt.'

Fitz chuckled. 'People do it all the time. I've done it a couple of times myself.' he said nonchalantly.

'Seriously?' she raised her eyebrows at him and folded her arms across her chest.

'You don't believe me?' he smirked. 'I could show you better than I could tell you, sunshine.'

Normally Olivia would object to anything like this but her curiosity was getting the best of her tonight. She wasn't sure what it was about Fitz that brought out this wild side in her but she kind of liked it. She had spent all of her life playing it safe and sticking to all of the rules so this was kind of refreshing.

'Is it safe?' she asked cautiously.

'No.' he answered honestly, shaking his head. 'But I can promise that not one hair on your head will be harmed tonight.' Fitz brought her hand up to his mouth and looked her in the eyes before kissing it softly.

She bit her bottom lip as she watched him. It was becoming more and more clear why it was so easy for Fitz to charm different women. Between his beautiful blue eyes, his deep baritone, and his slick tongue she was surprised he hadn't been through every woman in the DC area. Wanting to just be in the moment, Olivia decided that she'd let go of all of her fears and reservations about him. She just wanted to have a good time.

'Okay. Let's do it.' she nodded with an eager smile.

'That's my girl.' he cooed, not even realizing what he was stirring up inside of her. Fitz rolled his window down to get the man's attention and the man on the other side did the same.

It was a young guy, probably in his early 20's, and he had a car full of friends with him. Their music was blasting loudly and they were all laughing and excited. He leaned against his steering wheel and shot Fitz a mischievous grin. 'Hey, pretty lady.' he winked at Olivia before turning his attention to Fitz. 'We riding or what, old man?'

He chuckled under his breath but decided to let his comments go. 'Over the bridge into Virginia.'

'Sounds good.' he said in agreement before looking at Olivia again. 'I cant wait to see your fine ass at the finish line.'

Fitz raised the window back up and she rolled her eyes. 'Wow. What a jerk.'

'I hate to break it to you but most 20 year olds in nice sports cars are jerks.' he quipped, making her giggle. He let go of her hand to grab the gear shift in between them. The road to Virginia wouldn't be crowded this late on a Friday night and he was grateful for that.

'You have to beat him and defend my honor.' she teased, batting her eyelashes cutely at him.

'Of course.' he chortled smoothly then glanced over at her to make sure her seatbelt was fasted. 'You ready?'

'Do I need a helmet or something?' she cocked her head.

'I told you I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you.' he reminded. Before either of them could get another word out the light turned green and Fitz and the other guy sped off from the intersection.

Just as he suspected there was hardly no traffic in the direction they were going so he shifted gears to go faster. Fitz was trying his best to keep his eyes on the road but he could see the smile coming across her face as they hit the highway. He usually hated racing in his car but he was glad he got the opportunity tonight. For her safety, and so he wouldn't scare her half to death, he decided he wouldn't be going over 150mph tonight.

By the time he got close to that speed Olivia was sitting back and her hands were clenching the seat below her but she was laughing with her eyes shut tight. It felt like her stomach had gone all the way to her back but she loved it. She had never done anything this spontaneous before in her life and it felt good. It felt damn good.

Fitz finally turned his head to get a good look at her and he knew then that he was in trouble. There was no way in the world he should be feeling the things he was right then after knowing her for basically 24hrs and yet here he was, swoon over Olivia Pope. He saw the kid and his friends pass them out of his peripheral but decided to let him go. The race wasn't worth her safety and he doubted she even remembered that they were supposed to be winning. He continued down the road, dodging the little traffic that was there, until he came up on a rest stop where he pulled his car in.

Once he parked she finally opened her eyes but she just couldn't stop herself from laughing. She struggled to catch her breath and finally released the death grip she had on the leather, her chest still heaving up and down. She finally turned to him, her expression bright, her cheeks burning almost red, and her lips turned up into the biggest smile he had ever seen. 'Oh my God!'

He couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement. 'Fun, right?'

'Yes!' she nodded her head. 'That was amazing!'

'You weren't scared?' he put the car in park then reached out to take her hand again. She wasn't as hesitant as what she was in the first time but he had to assume it was because her mind was still racing.

'I mean, I was at first.' she admitted, unashamed. 'But I don't think I could feel my face after a little while. I thought for sure you were going to hit somebody or crash or something.'

Fitz laughed loudly at the thought before bringing her hand up to his lips once more to kiss it. 'Then you need to learn to trust me more. I told you that you'd be safe with me.'

Olivia blushed. There was that charm of his again showing its head. She was falling deeper and deeper into what she had to assume was his trap and she knew they needed to slow things down. Much to her luck her stomach chose that exact moment to growl and break up whatever moment they were having.

'What would you like to eat tonight, sunshine?' he asked as he heard the rumbling from her belly. He had forgotten that he had basically abducted her before she got a chance to eat anything back at the restaurant.

'I'm not picky.' her shoulders shrugged. 'Surprise me.'

'Hmm.' he hummed, thinking about the best options. He thought about going back into the city and trying to use his name to squeeze them into some restaurant but he quickly brushed that out of his mind. It was a beautiful night tonight, the moon was bright and the stars were shining, and it was quiet out at the rest stop. It had long been abandoned, a newer one took its place a few miles up the road, and it was very peaceful. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was share her so staying out here would be perfect.

Plus, he wanted this date to be different. Usually he would wine and dine a woman, using only his money to get to what he wanted, but Olivia was different. Everything about her felt different.

Fitz took his phone out of the cupholder it was sitting in and went to text one of the staff members he had working for him. He would've just ordered delivery but he had a feeling that they wouldn't bring anything to the location they were at. 'How about wings and fries?' he suggested.

'That sounds good.' she nodded her head and smiled before taking her own phone out to text Abbey to tell her she was no longer in D.C. and definitely not with Edison anymore. She knew her friend would have 3,000 questions but she'd have to table that discussion for later. She dropped a pin from her iPhone so she could share her location. Fitz had been showing her a good time so far but she had seen way too many episodes of Snapped to trust him completely.

No more than 20 minutes later Fitz had spread out a blanket from the back of his car and they were sitting in the patch of grass at the rest stop side by side. His assistant brought food and a selection of drinks for them to choose from and while he drank water, Olivia opted to pop open one of the strawberry wine coolers. He turned the radio on in his car to provide some music but the only other sounds were them talking.

Fitz wasn't really the type to discuss his family or past with anyone so they kept their conversation about their jobs and what they like to do and whatever else came to mind. 'So do you have any kids of your own?'

'No.' Olivia shook her head before tearing off a piece of meat from a wing and putting it in her mouth. 'You?'

'Not yet.' he responded, taking a sip of his water. 'So you were just babysitting Nicholas?'

She sighed but smiled. 'Nicki is staying with me during the summer. His mom is my younger sister and sometimes I think she gets a little bit too wrapped up in herself to think about him.'

Fitz nodded his head and leaned in, letting her know that he was listening. He could tell there was more to this story and he was willing to hear about whatever she wanted to say. He actually loved to watch her speak. Her eyes were expressive and her hands moved and made gestures if it was something she was excited about.

'Tanya had Nicki when she was 14.' she started then wiped her hands on a napkin. 'She's 19 now and she never really got the chance to grow up. Now she's off living with whatever boyfriend she has that month and dragging poor Nick around with her. I offered to take care of him this summer because I wanted to kinda give him a slice of childhood. A little piece of normal, ya know? I don't know much about boys but baseball seemed like a pretty safe choice.'

He smiled and nodded his head. 'You really cant go wrong with America's past time.'

Her eyes wandered down to her plate below her. 'I think I want to get full custody of him but I haven't brought that up with my sister just yet. I already know that she's going to have a fit if I suggest it and I don't want to mess up the relationship we have. She lets me get him most weekends and during holidays because she's always caught up living the fast life. Even if I were to file that doesn't mean that I'll win and it doesn't mean Nick even wants to come with me full time. I mean I may be creating an even bigger problem for myself by forcing him away from his mom and not only that I really have no clue about raising a kid.'

Olivia finally looked up long enough when she realized that all she had been doing was rambling. She was surprised to see that he was still intently watching her and obviously hanging on to every word she said. She blushed and shook her head. 'Sorry for unloading all of that on you like that. Sometimes I get a little carried away in my thoughts.'

'Don't apologize for that.' he quickly corrected and took hold of her hands. He liked how open and honest she was being with him. He was actually quite enjoying it. 'Can I ask you something, though?'

She hesitantly nodded her head. She figured after getting all of that off of her chest she at least owed that to him. She hated that she had just bogged him down with all her problems but sometimes once she got started it was hard to stop.

'Why did you say no when I asked you out earlier.' he noticed her eyebrows furrow and realized he had reached a touchy subject. 'You don't have to answer but I'm really curious.'

Olivia sighed. She had a feeling this would come up at some point during the night. She tried pulling her hands away but he wouldn't let go so she decided to just keep them there. It was a little scary how they fit perfectly into his and she needed some space.

'Fitz you seem like a pretty nice guy but I really don't see myself with some professional athlete. I'm sure you have women basically throwing themselves at you and I don't think I'll be able to deal with all the pressure of worrying about someone on the road and traveling to games and meeting new women. It's nothing against you personally.' she tried explaining.

'But it is against me because I'm the one who wants a chance but you wont let me have it because you're afraid of something that may or may not happened.' he said. Olivia didn't like the fact that he could read her like a book but she kept it to herself. 'So this is a trust issue?'

'That's a part of it, yes.' she nodded.

'Well, what's the other part?' he asked, ready to nip whatever this was in the butt. He didn't want anything standing in between his way of Olivia Pope after tonight.

'I don't want to be some type of prize to you.' her nose crinkled at the thought and at the fact that she was saying this out loud to him. The wine cooler was giving her a little bit more courage than what she usually had. 'I'm not a fantasy. I cant be called on when you're bored, or lonely, or horny. I don't want to be some type of celebrity booty call for you or anyone else. I don't want to be bought with expensive trips or dinners.'

His brows furrowed as he took in what she said. Fitz wasn't sure how much Olivia knew about his past but he hated that it was now all coming back to haunt him. He couldn't change what he did then but knew he could stop now. 'Is that what you think my intentions are?'

'Are they?' she asked, trying to be blunt.

'No, not at all.' he brought both of her hands to his mouth and kissed her fingers. 'I want to be completely honest with you when I say that I have been that way in the past but, Olivia, if you give me this one chance then I can stop all of that.'

She had to keep from rolling her eyes. As sincere as Fitz sounded she had heard this line plenty of times before and she was pretty unfazed by it. 'Your words are nice, Fitz, but I need to see some type of actions. I can't base my life on something you say.'

'I know, I know.' he nodded in acknowledgement. 'But you have to promise to give me a chance. I cant show you anything if you refuse to even hear me out.'

'I understand that.' she sighed in agreement. She knew it wasn't fair to him to flat out reject him without even giving him a chance but she was trying to guard her heart, too. She didn't want to get hurt because she fell for some old tricks.

'I want you to trust me.' he said, squeezing down lightly on her fingers. 'I want to earn you.'

Olivia blushed, unsure of what to say. It seemed like he was saying and doing all the right things and she really wanted to break their moment up. He seemed to be leaning in to kiss her and she knew she'd be a goner if he did. There was no way she'd be able to show any restraint if he did. Right before he got too close she heard a new song play on the radio and it seemed familiar. She abruptly stood up to her feet and walked over to the car to turn the volume up.

'Do you know this song?' she asked as she returned to the blanket and kicked her heels off. They were killing her feet anyway so feeling the soft grass in between her toes was welcoming.

Fitz smirked. It was obvious that she was avoiding getting too close to him and he found it kind of cute. He'd play this game of cat and mouse with her if thats what she wanted to do but it wouldn't last long. She was going to be his soon enough. He watched as his cute little prey pushed her designer shoes off to the side and listened to the music playing from his car. It seemed like he had heard the beat before but he didn't pay much attention to pop music. The baseball stadium was always playing the latest hits but he never cared for them.

 _The club isn't the best place to find a lover_  
 _So the bar is where I go_  
 _Me and my friends at the table doing shots_  
 _Drinking faster and then we talk slow_

'I cant say I've ever heard of it.' he said, still watching her from his seat on the blanket. He bent his knee so he could rest one arm on it and used his other arm to support himself.

 _Come over and start up a conversation with just me_  
 _And trust me I'll give it a chance now_  
 _Take my hand, stop put van the man on the jukebox_  
 _And then we start to dance and now I'm singing like_

She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the fact that Fitz made her feel wild and free when he was around but she started dancing. It was probably a combination of them both. Nothing too extreme at first, just shaking her hips to the beat of the song and nodding her head.

 _Girl, you know I want your love_  
 _Your love was handmade for somebody like me_  
 _Come on now, follow my lead_

Olivia reached down to him, still rolling her hips to the beat of the music. Fitz raised his eyebrows at her gesture and shook his head 'no'. He had never been much of a dancer and he definitely wasn't tipsy enough to embarrass himself like this in front of her. He watched as she shrugged her shoulders and continued to dance by herself.

 _I may be crazy, don't mind me_  
 _Say, boy, let's not talk too much_  
 _Grab on my waist and put that body on me_  
 _Come on now, follow my lead_  
 _Come, come on now, follow my lead_

She turned her back to him, still dancing and enjoying herself in her own little world. He couldn't help but laugh under his breath. He had wanted this date to be 'different' than the others and that's what he had gotten. Fitz was going to just continue watching before he remembered what he had just told her. He had already promised that he was going to earn her and yet here he was, sitting on his ass. If she wanted to dance, then he was going to dance.

 _I'm in love with the shape of you_  
 _We push and pull like a magnet do_  
 _Although my heart is falling too_  
 _I'm in love with your body_

He felt a little awkward when he first stood up and tried to catch the beat and thought about sitting back down while her back was still turned. The most dancing he had ever done was at his prom back in high school and he would still compare those movement to a dying fish trying to flop back to water. Before he could change his mine again she happened to turn around. Olivia smiled brightly as she realized he had changed his mind, just as she thought he would, then came over to where he was. She could tell he was nervous, and normally she would be too, but tonight was different.

 _And last night you were in my room_  
 _And now my bed sheets smell like you_  
 _Every day discovering something brand new_  
 _I'm in love with your body_

Luckily Fitz didn't have to do much thinking about any dance moves or steps because Olivia took both of his hands and started to move them both. She put his palms on her waist and encouraged him to move along with the music. He was positive that he looked like the biggest idiot but he felt like he was on top of the world when he moved with her. His main focus was to not step on her toes but he was sure he had done it at least twice but she didn't seem to mind.

Olivia helped him twirl her around and then Fitz, feeling bold, decided to lean her down and dip her. As soon as she leaned back he lost his grip and he almost dropped her but he caught her before she could hit the ground. He quickly picked her back up and he felt bad but she burst into a fit of laughter.

He blushed and looked down at his shoes and scratched the back of his head. 'Sorry about that.'

'It's alright.' she managed to get out through her tittering. She knew it was an accident but she appreciated his effort. 'I guess we wont be going dancing anymore.'

Fitz's little mistake was making him feel just a little shy but he was down right embarrassed now that she seemed to be making fun of him. It wasn't until he finally processed her last sentence that he looked up and grinned. 'Next time? As in a second date?'

She snickered at his eagerness but decided to tease him. 'No, that's now that I meant at all.'

'Yes you did.' he countered, walking towards her. Olivia tried backing away but with his long strides it was extremely easy to keep up. 'You're agreeing to go out with me again.'

Olivia held her hands up, trying to put some space in between them, but it didn't work. He grabbed hold of her wrists tightly in his hands and pulled her closer to him. Right as their bodies pressed together his lips crashed to her in a heated kiss. Her mind was telling her to pull away and to stop but instead she opened her mouth, inviting his tongue in, and she stood on the tips of her toes so that they could better reach other.

That was it. That was the moment Olivia Pope knew that she was a goner.

* * *

 **6 Months Later**

Olivia sat in her bed, naked and pouting as she watched Fitz going around the room and picking up his clothes. It was really her own fault. She knew that he had to go but she insisted that they should have sex before he did and now she wanted to cuddle but he had to leave. She liked to think that she 'seduced' him but it didn't take much persuading to have him start tearing through her clothes. She pulled the sheet up above her breasts and willed herself to calm down. It wasn't his fault he had to go and there was no reason to be mad at him.

Fitz had a game the next day and this one was important not for the team, but for their relationship. Olivia had insisted that they keep their relationship private and he was fine with that at first but she took it to a new extreme he wasn't ready for. They never met in public or well visited restaurants, he wasn't allowed to bring her lunch while she was at work and all of their dates were meticulously planned out and strategized, by her of course, and he was getting sick of it. He hated that she continued to be his little secret when all he wanted to do was broadcast that he was a man in love with an incredible woman.

Tomorrow, though, was going to be a step in the right direction. She'd finally be attending one of his games and she'd actually be sitting in the premium seats right above the dugout so that he could see her the whole time. Fitz was excited to say the least but he was trying to play it cool. The team always got a few hotel rooms the night before the games and they were all required to report in at a certain time but he spent every moment of the day up until then with her.

'I don't want you to go.' she mumbled under her breath as she watched him victoriously find his boxers and put them on. She cursed herself in her head because she meant to hide them in a better spot when she threw them off.

'I don't want to leave you. You know that.' he said seriously before pulling his pants up and tightening his belt. Olivia didn't know but he was aware of all of her little tricks to hold him hostage at her house. He once found that his shoes had magically disappeared into the kitchen cabinets so he had gotten pretty good at finding her hiding places.

'I know.' she sighed and looked down at her hands, playing with her thumbs. Fitz was the only man in the world she had ever been so head over heels for to the point she hated being away even if only for a few hours.

'So are you coming to take pictures after the game?' he asked cautiously, knowing that this would be a very touchy subject for them. They had agreed on 'slowly' revealing their relationship to the world and he knew that her taking pictures with the rest of the wives and girlfriends and families would completely derail that. He didn't care, though, he was tired of moving slow.

Olivia's brows furrowed. 'Where is this coming from? I thought we agreed we'd wait until next season to do that.'

Fitz waited until he pulled his shirt over his head to roll his eyes, knowing that if she saw him do it he'd likely get something thrown at his head and it probably wouldn't be a pillow. He noticed she had a book lying on her nightstand and he knew he didn't want to take that to the face. 'No. _You_ said let's wait until next season and _I_ said we'd play it by ear. Next season is next year.' he added, tucking his shirt into his pants. 'And I'm ready now.'

She sighed again. She hated when he got this way. If she was honest she was absolutely terrified of what might happen if they went public. In her opinion Fitz wasn't thinking this situation all the way through. 'Can we talk about this another time?'

'What are you so afraid of, Liv? What's the worst that could happen if we told everyone we dated? Its not like we'll lose our jobs and I'm almost positive that the sky wouldn't fall.' he said, trying to add a little bit of humor to it.

'Fitz I just want to make sure you're ready.' she said, trying to explain the situation as gently as possible. When she saw the way his face dropped she immediately regretted it.

'What do you mean " _Make sure I'm ready_ "? I'm ready, Olivia! I've been ready for months now!' he said, running his hands through his hair as he tried processing what she meant.

'I just don't think you're looking at the whole picture, Fitz.' she said softly, trying to keep their conversation calm although it was obvious he was getting worked up.

'Could you stop talking in riddles long enough to tell me what's really on your mind?' he asked, his voice still elevated.

'It's just that we've been seeing each other for six months now and they've been absolutely great but I just want to make sure that this is something that you're ready for. Going public will put a major strain on our relationship and everything we will do and have done will be scrutinized. I can only imagine what would happen if we were to ever break up. The media would be in total frenzy.'

His eyebrows raised. 'So this is what this is about? You're afraid I'm going to break up with you?'

'No.' she shook her head and looked away from him. Fitz had a strange talent of reading her expressions and thoughts and she wasn't in the mood for his analyzing.

His jaw clenched as he tried to think of her reasoning. 'You're afraid that I haven't changed?' he asked although he pretty much knew the answer. 'You're scared that I've been doing the same things I've been doing. That's why you don't want to come forward!'

Her silence let him know that he had hit the nail on the head and he was so frustrated that he could scream. 'I can't believe this! I've done nothing but try and prove myself for the past six months and you still think I'm screwing around! I don't know what else you want from me!'

'I don't need you to do anything extra, Fitz! I just want to make sure that we're both on the same page! I don't want to be embarrassed if this doesn't go right!' she said, finally yelling back at him.

'Unbelievable!' he threw his hands up in the air. 'What do I need to do now? Get a t-shirt that says " _I'm taken_ "? Or should I get your name tattooed across my face to let women know not to approach? After all this time you still don't trust me!'

'I do trust you!' she tried to argue back.

'You didn't. You _don't_!' he countered. Before he could respond their was a soft knock on the bedroom door. They both had forgotten all about Nicki who was spending time with his aunt. Her sister, Tanya, had flown to Europe with her latest boyfriend and Olivia had insisted on keeping him in the states so he could go to school.

She hopped up from the bed and threw on the nearest t-shirt she could find and her panties before rushing over to the door. Olivia shot Fitz a look, telling him to behave once she opened the door. He scoffed and looked away before shoving his hands in his pockets. She opened the door to reveal Nicki rubbing his big brown eyes.

'Why are you guys yelling? Are you fighting?' he asked, his tone showing how worried he was.

'No, no.' Olivia shook her head. 'We were just talking kind of loud. I'm sorry if we woke you up.'

'Can I have some water before I go back to sleep auntie?' he yawned.

'Yes, you may.' she nodded and started lightly pushing him out of the room. 'Go get in the bed and I'll bring it to you in a few minutes. Tell Uncle Fitz goodnight.'

Nicki smiled and waved at his hero turned 'Uncle'. This was one of the best parts of staying with his aunt in his opinion. 'Night, Uncle Fitz! Do good tomorrow, okay? We have to win!'

Fitz put on the biggest smile he could muster under the circumstances and winked and waved at him. 'You know it, Nick. I'll be looking for you out there tomorrow, okay?'

'Okay!' he nodded before scurrying off to what had become his bedroom.

Olivia waited until she heard the door shut before turning back around to face Fitz. 'Look, I'm not trying to argue or pick a fight. I just want you to be ready.'

His eyes rolled as she mentioned him being 'ready' again. He was now regretting even asking about the photos. Fitz grabbed his keys and wallet from the dresser before walking past her and through the bedroom door. 'Good night, Olivia.'

She sighed and looked down at her feet as she heard him leave. Olivia walked to the kitchen to get Nicki his water then returned to bed. He usually would text or call when he made it to his destination so she waited up to hear from him. Instead all she saw was where he tweeted that he and his teammates were getting ready to play tomorrow. She rolled her eyes and plugged her phone in and decided to just go to sleep.

The next day Olivia thought about skipping out on the game all together but as soon as she brought the idea up to Nicholas he had an absolute fit. He had been looking forward to going for weeks and he knew Fitz had gotten them the best seats in the stadium. He had even put out his own outfit and took a shower with having to be asked.

She really didn't know where they stood after their fight last night and she didn't want to be a distraction while he played today. She could admit that she let her insecurities get the best of her but she was just trying to be cautious. It would be absolutely devastating if she found out that they weren't ready. She wanted their relationship to last and rushing into things wouldn't help. Olivia also realized, though, that she had been being a little selfish. Fitz had bent over backwards for the past few months making sure that she was happy and content and she still refused to even take a picture with him.

Olivia held on tightly to Nicki's hand as they walked down the sidewalk to the stadium. They had taken the Metro today with the rest of the Nationals fans because she wanted to give him a real feel of what it was like to be a fan. They were both wearing matching red and white jerseys with dark blue jeans and white Converse. Nicholas swore they took at least 1,000 pictures before they left home but he tried his best not to complain. Once they made it to the main entrance and she showed their VIP passes one of the guards came to escort them to their seats.

She felt her Apple Watch buzz with a notification and she glanced down at it as they followed the man that was leading them to their seats.

 _I love you_ — Fitz

She sighed but smiled and pulled out her phone to reply with a simple _I love you, too_. Olivia had been worried all morning about what would be next in their relationship but she felt so much better after hearing from him.

Once the game started Olivia ordered some food to be brought to their seats and she and Nicki sat back and enjoyed the game. Nick was trying his best to wave and get Fitz's attention but it seemed nearly impossible. He wanted to be disappointed but he was working on his 3rd hotdog of the day by then so he wasn't really thinking about it.

The Nationals won 5-0 and the crowd erupted into a fit of celebration and applause. Olivia was about to gather their things and head back home when she saw Fitz running towards their direction. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what he was doing. The only thing separating them was a bar to keep the fans corralled in. The cameras were still rolling so it curiously followed to where Fitz was going.

'What are you doing?' Olivia hissed lowly as she watched him approach.

Much to her surprise Fitz hopped over the gate and stood up close to her. He took a firm hold on her waist and pressed her body against his. There were fans all around trying to get his attention but he completely ignored everyone else, his eyes only on her. 'Something I should've done a long time ago.'

'Fitz.' she warned lightly as she tried to pull herself out of his arms.

His grip tightened so she couldn't move at all. 'You don't get to tell me what I can and cannot handle. You don't get to tell me what I am and am not ready for. I'm ready for you, Olivia, and I'm not letting anything else come in between that.'

Her jaw almost dropped at the tone he was taking with her. She wanted to be mad but she kinda liked it. She loved it when he took charge. 'I—' she stuttered. 'Alright.'

He leaned in to kiss her but she pulled away and mumbled. 'The cameras, Fitz.' she gestured over to the big screen which was zoomed in on them.

Fitz looked around until he found exactly which camera was filming them then waved at it before turning his attention back to her. 'I don't give a damn about those cameras, Olivia.' he said confidently before leaning in to take her lips.

Olivia tried to resist at first but she couldn't help but mold into his body as his lips took over hers. The crowd erupted into a mixture of laughter and cheering but they seemed to have blocked everybody else out. Nicki, on the other hand, was not too pleased with seeing them this way. He turned his head and covered his face in embarrassment. He couldn't believe that his family was acting this way in front of everyone.

Only once he was sure that Olivia needed to breathe did he pull away. His hands traveled down to her bum and he gave both cheeks a tight pinch before whispering lowly. 'I want my family with me for photos in the next 10 minutes.'

She winced slightly but smiled and nodded her head. 'Okay.'

He smiled widely. If he had known this was all he needed to do to get his way he would've done it months ago. Fitz kissed her forehead then ruffled up Nicholas' hair a bit before hopping back over the rail to go to the dugout. In his opinion everything was now right with the world.

* * *

That night Olivia was sitting in Fitz's bed in his penthouse watching ESPN. This was usually out of the question for her but tonight was different because they were the headline. It was the 'Kiss Seen Around Baseball' as the MLB's most eligible bachelor declared that he was no longer on the market. It had really been the only story they had been playing all day but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She had to admit that it felt good actually being out as a couple. She felt like so much weight had been taken off of her shoulders.

After the game they all ate with Fitz's teammates so they could all meet then they dropped Nicki off with Abbey for the night. Once they showered and got changed, he took her to a nice restaurant in downtown DC and made sure to show her off every chance he got. They sat across from one another at a booth and ate off of the same plate like two lovestruck teenagers. Fitz usually didn't use a driver but he did tonight so he could feel her up the whole entire ride back to his place. It was something he quite enjoyed actually.

A few moments later he returned from the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He chuckled when he saw what she was watching on television. 'You're still watching that?'

'Why wouldn't I be? Baseball has a new power couple.' she said half defensively.

Fitz smirked and shook his head as he towel dried his hair. They didn't come to his place too often, mostly because they knew the paparazzi would be around, but he loved when they did. Since he didn't have much family and not too many friends he would rarely have anyone over. It was always lonely and quiet and it often seemed too big for him to be staying it. But seeing Olivia in his bed in her pajamas eating a bag of his chips (on his side so she wouldn't have to sleep in the crumbs) felt perfect. Everything about today felt perfect. The only thing missing would've been Nicki running around like a madman while playing with Fitz's dog but they could have that another time.

Tonight, he had a plan. Tonight he was going to make up for all the times they missed together because they had to be apart. Tonight he was going to make her moan and scream at the top of her lungs. Tonight he was going to wear her out so that she couldn't leave his house tomorrow. Tonight she was going to be branded as his.

She just didn't know it yet.

Fitz watched as she put another handful of chips in her mouth, completely unaware of what he was plotting. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what surface he would do her on first. She had a very long night ahead of her so he was glad she was eating now. He could feel his dick begin to harden as he thought about all the naughty things he was about to do to her. He grabbed the remote off of the end of the bed and turned off the television then put it off to the side.

'Hey!' she huffed. 'I was watching that!'

'It'll be on in the morning.' he reassured, brushing off her concerns. He walked over to his closet and grabbed a tie before returning to the bedroom. 'Get undressed.'

'What?' her brows furrowed as she saw the tie in his hands.

'Clothes off. Now.' he demanded.

Olivia blushed at his commanding tone but stood to her feet and took off her t-shirt and running shorts then moved on to her panties. Usually it was her setting the pace when they were intimate but it seemed as if the axis of power had completely shifted. She put her discarded clothes off to the side then watched as he rounded the bed to come to where she was standing.

Fitz dropped the towel that was covering the lower half of his body, showing off his impressive semi erect penis. She reached out to grab it but he quickly grabbed her wrist and pushed it behind her back. Before she could respond, he was tying both of her wrists behind her back with his tie. Assuming it was some type of joke she pulled on the restraints but blushed when she saw that she couldn't get away. It was tied too tight for her to try and wriggle out of it and now she was stuck.

He started slowly kissing down her neck then to her collarbone until he reached the valley between her breasts. Fitz took the right one in his hand, fondling it and using his pointer finger and thumb to pinch her nipples, while his mouth began to lightly suck on the flesh of the left one. They usually said no markings but she wasn't leaving his bed without his love bites tonight. Olivia didn't seem to mind as she threw her head back at the sensation of his warm tongue on her nipple. She clenched her legs together tightly, sure that her arousal would start dripping soon.

Once he had shown both of her breasts his full attention he kissed down her body until he reached the juncture between her thighs. Fitz tried to get her to open her legs and chuckled when he saw that she was stubbornly keeping them closed. He stood up straight and backed her up to the bed. When the back of her knees met the side of the comforter he turned her around and bent her over. She yelped softly when her shoulder hit the soft padding of the mattress and tried to stand up again but he pushed her back down.

'Fitz,' she started to protest. She hated not being able to see him or know what he was doing. If she had her arms free she'd at least be able to sit up some but he wasn't having it. She was right where he wanted her to be.

'Quiet, Olivia.' he said curtly before spreading out her legs. His cock twitched as he got a perfect view of her round ass but he restrained himself. He was going to have fun with her before they took things there.

Olivia heard him drop to his knees and couldn't help but blush. This was all very new territory for them and she was feeling a little self conscious. She tried shutting her legs again but he popped her behind.

'Don't move.' he instructed. He rubbed his palm gently across her bum, soothing away the sting, before spreading her apart so that he could get a full view of her. Olivia was a beautiful woman, anybody could see that, but it was a huge stroke to his ego knowing that he was the only one that got to see her this bare and open. He'd make sure that he was the only person who would get that privilege from now on. He flattened his tongue and licked her pussy, splitting apart her drenched lips. She made a sound that was somewhere in between a squeal and purr and Fitz's eyebrows quirked slightly. That was definitely a new sound, but, he liked it. He repeated the action and got the same response, this time with her body lurching forward. He popped her ass once more, another warning for her not to move.

Fitz took hold of her hips and brought her back to his greedy mouth. He loved how exposed she was in this position and he planned on taking full advantage of it. He continued to kiss and lick and suck at her lips and vulva, ignoring her throbbing nub that was craving for his attention. He could hear her whimpering and begging but he wasn't sure if she was trying to get away or craving more. He moved down to her clit and sucked it into his mouth and she screamed. All of his teasing had gotten her worked up and she thought for sure she was about to orgasm right then. Olivia tried her best to stay still as he selfishly fed off of her essence. She could feel a tear rolling down her face as an explosion began to build in between her legs. Her toes began to curl and her legs trembled, threatening to give out as she whimpered and moaned.

 _What has gotten into this man?_

He got a good grip of her thighs as her orgasmed washed over her. He could feel her body begin to slump and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He continued to lick up her essence dripping down her thighs then moved back up to her pussy, kissing it and lightly sucking. He could eat her all night long if he had the chance. Olivia's eyes opened once more and she groaned lowly as he made it obvious that he was going to try and bring her to another orgasm. Fitz licked his way back up until he reached her asshole and ran his tongue around it.

She blushed profusely and tried moving again but he had a good grip on her body and made it clear that she wasn't getting anywhere. None of her partners had ever done that for her and she was feeling a little self conscious. Olivia felt as one of his hands moved from her thigh down to her pussy as he began running his fingers over it. His tongue didn't stop as his digits teased her until she got wet enough for him to slide two fingers in easily. Her face burned red and she cried out loudly as he showed her absolutely no mercy. She could feel her thighs begin to get sore from being in that position so long but she didn't care. It all felt way too good to care.

'Fitz, baby.' she keened, not knowing whether to beg for mercy or beg him to keep going. It wouldn't matter either way, though, because he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.

Olivia wasn't sure how long she had been laying there. It could've been hours for all she knew. She could feel another orgasm build and she choked out a few more straggled moans. As soon as it hit her she couldn't help but to fall flat over. Fitz stood to his feet and licked his fingers that were still covered in her essence and stroked his cock with his free hand. He watched as she turned over so that she could lay on her back. Her face was red, her hair was wild and splayed out, and her legs were still trembling. All he wanted was more.

Fitz helped her sit up then reached behind her to undo the tie that kept her hands together. Just as Olivia thought she'd be getting some freedom he retied them so that her hands could be in front of her instead. She pouted and looked at him with her bottom lip poked out. 'Baby.' she whined.

'Later.' he said, shushing her drones with a kiss. Fitz got her to stand on her feet then abruptly picked her up in his arms so that her breasts were right in his face. He buried his head in between them, kissing and licking as he pleased.

He knew his room well enough to get them pressed up against a wall, her back lightly slamming into it. Olivia had been on the pill for the past 3 months so they had long ditched the use of condoms. She could feel him start to lower her body down towards his shaft and she whimpered. Fitz was being an absolute animal tonight and she loved it.

Finally he pressed the tip of his dick inside of her wet entrance and she threw her head back and shut her eyes tightly. Fitz leaned into her and started laying wet, open mouth kisses up and down her neck. 'Livvie.' he mumbled lowly, grabbing her attention.

'Yes?' she breathed out, her chest starting to heave.

Fitz pushed the rest of his dick inside her, making her scream as she stretched out to accommodate his size. He slowly eased all the way back out of her before thrusting himself back in. Olivia's legs wrapped tighter around his waist as he fucked her.

'Look at me, Livvie.' he said, looking in her eyes as he started to pull out once more. 'Whose pussy is this?'

Her bottom lip quivered as she tried to speak. The only noise that came out was whimpering but she cleared her throat. 'Yours. It's yours.' she said softly.

He plunged back into her slick depths, making her scream again. 'Louder.' he demanded.

'Yours! All yours!' she cried out, leaning in to kiss him.

Fitz tightened his grip on her body as he kissed her. His thrusts became quicker after that as he fucked her against the wall. Her walls tightened around his dick, sucking him in further whenever he pushed back inside of her. He looked down in between them, watching his cock go in and out of her pussy. Her stomach began to tremble and it became obvious that she was close again. His balls were beginning to tingle so he knew he wouldn't last much longer, either.

He leaned it to kiss her again and carefully pushed one of his hands in between them so that he could play with her clit. Fitz sucked in all of her screaming as he took her over the edge once more. As soon as she came her body grew limp in his arms and her face flushed. He slowed down his thrusts and moved gently inside her, kissing her face gently as she came down from her high.

A few moments later he squirted his seed into her and rested his head in the crook of her neck as they both struggled to catch their breath. He knew they would need to clean up as soon as he pulled out so he walked them to the bathroom.

Once he was sure that she could stand on her own he gently placed her down on her feet and she held her thighs together. Fitz untied the tie and gently kissed both of her wrists before walking over to the bathtub and running some water. She wasn't expecting this but she definitely wasn't complaining, either. While the water ran he grabbed a small wash cloth and helped her clean up between her legs. He kissed both of her thighs before standing back up and kissing her forehead.

'Hi.' he said with a soft grin.

'Hi.' she responded shyly with a smile of her own.

* * *

'Olivia.' Fitz said, lightly shaking her from her sleep. He chortled when she pushed him away but tried again anyway. 'Livvie, wake up.'

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. After her bath last night she had fallen asleep nestled in his arms but he had woken her up a few hours later. It was like he just couldn't get enough of her and she had enjoyed every moment of it. Olivia stretched her legs and realized just how sore they were.

'What time is it?' she mumbled.

'It's 1.' he said, crawling in bed next to her. He was already dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tshirt.

'In the morning?' she asked, sitting up. She was still naked so the sheets cascaded down to her thighs, leaving her chest exposed.

'No.' he chuckled. '1pm, dear.'

'What?' her eyes widened. 'Oh no, Fitz. We were supposed to get Nicki from Abbey's at 11 so she could go out. We have to get up.'

He took hold of her hand before she could hop out of bed, halting her movements. Fitz leaned in and kissed the side of her face. 'Hey, hey, I already took care of it. I've talked to Abbey and everything. I'm going to go get him now.'

'You don't have to.' she shook her head. 'I can go.'

With Fitz's help she had finally gotten the courage to ask her little sister for full custody of Nicholas. While she was apprehensive at first, her new boyfriend didn't really like kids so she was starting to come to terms with leaving him with Olivia. They said they'd have a further discussion once she made it back from Europe. Fitz recognized that if she got custody that he'd also need to step up and become a role model for the young boy. He didn't mind helping out with Nicki. They both felt like family.

'It's not a problem.' he smiled and kissed her forehead. 'We'll be back soon. I'll bring something from that Italian place down the street.'

She smiled and nodded her head before laying back down on her back. Olivia puckered her lips, wanting a kiss, and he chuckled and leaned forward to give her one. 'I love you.' she said with a bright smile.

'I love you, too.' he replied before getting out of bed.

Fitz left the house 10 minutes later and met Abbey and Nicholas a few miles down. Abbey had agreed to meet up with him to help him pick out engagement rings although he basically already knew what he was going to get her. He saw it in the store window one day and went inside to ask the jeweler about it. After the man explained that it was old and one of a kind he knew that that was the one for her. He paid the man to put it away until he could return the next week to get Abbey and Nicki's opinion on it.

As soon as they met outside the doors Nicki ran into his arms and nearly climbed up his body to get to his back. Fitz laughed and took hold of the boy's legs to keep him steady. The three of them walked inside the store and came back out 10 minutes later with a new piece of jewelry.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Behold the result of a Monday of not doing a single ounce of my homework. This is way longer than what I intended it to be but I'm not really good at writing 'short' stories. This was originally supposed to be 5,000 words but I suddenly looked at the word count and it said 10,000 and I just kept going *sigh*.**_

 _ **This story is a part of a larger collection of one shots that I've started but never finished; just like The Perfect Stranger which is also posted on my account. I start them and get distracted and never take time to complete them. I wore my Nationals baseball jersey the other day and I got some inspiration back for this one. If you all like these little mini stories then I may post a few more. Depending on how popular this one is I'll do a poll on my twitter or something and see what you guys want to read next. My Twitter and Tumblr names are lynalexandria if you didnt know. I've said before, and I'll say it again, I want my readers to be happy with my writing so your opinions matter to me. Or maybe you don't like them at all and want me to stop. Just let me know!**_

 _ **I know that not everybody is watching the show but HAPPY SCANDAL WEEK for those who still do! The wait is almost over! I hope this season lives up to all of our expectations!**_

 _ **Let me know your thoughts and favorite parts or whatever else! Until next time!**_


	2. Chapter 2

'Uncle Fitzzzz.' Nicolas whined from the backseat of the car, kicking his legs around slightly to further show his impatience with their current situation. Abbey was sure to bundle him up so that he'd be warm so it didn't help that he was wrapped up in a coat and thick pants with boots.

'I'm trying, bud. Cut me some slack.' Fitz lowly begged as he tried his best to correctly strap him into his booster seat. Olivia always made so it look so easy but he was having the hardest time. He had seen her do it thousands of times before, it seemed like such a simple little click, but apparently he was wrong. This was his first time picking Nicolas up by himself and he was hoping it'd be stress free.

'Do you need help, Fitz?' Abbey called out from her car beside them with her window down. She was wondering what was taking Fitz so long to just buckle him in.

Fitz blushed. He had been working hard to show Olivia that he knew what he was doing when it came down to helping with Nicki but it was sometimes a little overwhelming. He had no prior experience with children and it was a very steep learning curve.

'No, I'm fine. This is just a little game me and Nick play. Right?' he asked, glancing at Nicolas and giving him a pleading expression.

'No.' he shook his head. 'Uncle Fitz just doesn't know how to do it.' he called back, not wanting to lie or wait any longer. His iPad was right beside him and he was itching to play a game.

Fitz's head dropped in defeat, his forehead resting on top of Nicki's thighs, and Abbey burst into laughter. She got out of her car and walked over to where they were standing. She squeezed into the doorway and showed Fitz step by step what to do and he was a little embarrassed because it was so simple.

'Thanks, Abbey. I don't know what we'd do without you.' he rubbed the back of his head and shut the door.

She giggled. Abbey knew he was trying his best to change his lifestyle up a little and she commended him for it. She just liked to see him sweat occasionally. 'I'm not sure, either. And don't worry. I wont tell Liv you don't know how to buckle Nicki in.'

He blushed but smiled shyly. 'Thanks. We'll see you guys later. Tell Leo I said hi.'

Abbey rolled her eyes. The two of them had developed such a bromance over the past few months and she and Olivia found it absolutely cavemanish and they loved to tease them about it. All they did was watch sports and yell at the television and it was absolutely hilarious. After she promised to pass along his message she returned to her car.

Fitz got into the driver's seat and turned the heat up. It was cold in DC in the middle November with fast winds and frigid temperatures. He took a final glance back at Nicolas to make sure he was still secure in his seat before he started back up.

Usually he preferred to drive his Maserati but today he was in Olivia's Lexus. While his car had 4 seats there was hardly no room on the backseat for a booster seat let alone Nicolas himself. They hadn't talked about having kids anytime soon but they both knew that they wanted a few so he had a feeling he'd be trading his car in for something new in the near future but he didn't mind. He had been looking at an Escalade he saw somebody on his team driving but he didn't want to get ahead of himself, either. Fitz couldn't help but smile, though, when he got a vision of driving a big truck with Olivia in the passenger side and Nicki and their children all piled into the back. The model he saw could comfortably hold 8 in total but he wondered if they would need more room than that.

'Did you have fun at Auntie Abbey's house, Nick?' Fitz asked, glancing in the backseat and grabbing the boy's attention.

'Ya!' he nodded excitedly. 'We ate pizza and ice-cream and Uncle Leo took me for a ride on his back but then he had to sit down on the couch because he was tired and Aunt Abbey said he was an old man!' Nicki giggled.

Fitz snorted and shook his head as he got a vision of his friend trying to tote Nicolas around. Leo wasn't in the best of shape so he could only imagine that his little 'ride' didn't last long. 'Who gives better rides? Uncle Fitz or Uncle Leo?'

'Um..' he hummed lowly as he tried to think and compare. 'You, Uncle Fitz!'

Fitz grinned widely, feeling as if he had just won the World Series and the lottery all in the same day. He had spent the last few months perfecting his piggyback riding skills, learning a combination of hops, spins, and other tricks that were guaranteed to keep Nicolas laughing and happy. Leo, on the other hand, was just a grumpy old man who just walked around making animal noises.

It was obvious to Fitz who was more superior in this category.

'Can we go fast, Uncle Fitz?' Nick asked, nudging the seat in front of him with his foot to get his attention.

'Not today, bud.' he gave him an apologetic smile.

Fitz had taken Nicolas out for a race on an actual track a few weeks ago and the kid was now addicted to all things that went fast. He really hated to deny him something that made him so happy but today wasn't the day for fooling around. Not only did he know that Olivia would kill him for going over 90mph in her car, they were trying to be more careful with Nick around. She was going to start pursuing full custody in the next month or so and she didn't want anything bad happening in between that time. They needed to look like perfect role models and parental figures if this were to ever work out.

'Why not?' he whined and kicked his feet lightly.

'Because Auntie Olivia is at home waiting for us and she's hungry so we have to stop and get food first.' he said, lying through his teeth. The real answer was way too complicated and he didn't want to put all that on his mind.

'Mommy says when Aunt Olivia gets hungry she turns into a T-Rex!' Nicki playfully snarled and lifted his arms up. 'Rawr!'

His eyes rolled. As playful as the statement seemed he had a feeling that it didn't start off as innocent as what Nicolas thought. He had only met Tanya a few times, all of which were terrible, and from those times alone he knew he didn't like her. She seemed to just be a spoiled little brat who only thought of herself and the only person suffering was Nicki. It was only in recent months that he had realized how desperately he needed to be removed from that situation. When he came to stay with Olivia a few weeks ago his hair was dirty and knotted and his teacher said that he had been showing up late to school if he even showed up at all. It was as if Tanya didn't even care and thats what made his blood boil the most.

'Uncle Fitz,' Nicki said from the backseat, grabbing his attention once more. 'When are you going to purpose to Auntie Olivia?'

Fitz smiled, glad that he was providing a good distraction from his thoughts about Tanya. 'Propose.' he warmly corrected 'I'm going to propose on Christmas, remember? We're going on a vacation so we can all spend time together.'

'Will my mommy be there?' he asked, cocking his head to the side.

'Not this time.' he shook his head. 'It will just be the three of us. Does that sound okay?'

'Ya.' he shrugged his shoulders. 'It's always just the three of us and we have a good time so it's okay.' Nick leaned back in his car seat and grabbed his iPad and unlocked it but spoke before he found the game he wanted to play. 'You know what I like most about staying with Auntie Olivia?'

'What is it?' he asked, ears perking to attention.

'She helps me with my homework and she uses that nice stuff in my hair that makes it soft and smell good and she reads me stories before I go to sleep and she makes sure that all my undies get clean before I go to school.' he confessed before tapping on Angry Birds.

Fitz glanced at him in the rearview mirror and his expression softened. His father died when he was very young and his mother, although she tried her best, was not in the condition to care for him. He related to Nicolas in way that surprised him and it made his heart break. He was just happy that Olivia was there to pick up in the places where Tanya slacked off and he planned to support her in any and every way possible.

He was going to stop by the Italian restaurant before remembering that he probably wouldn't be able to redo Nicki's seatbelt so he decided to just go straight home. Fitz used his phone at the stop light to order takeout from their favorite place and got their usual dishes.

By the time they made it back to Fitz's penthouse the delivery man was there so he brought the food in and set it on the table. He instructed Nicolas to go take off his coat and change into his pajamas and meet them in the master bedroom. He had his own 'room' at Fitz's place although it was rarely used. After grabbing some silverware and a glass of wine for Olivia he made his way up to the bedroom.

She was sitting up in his California King bed typing something on her laptop with her back pressed against some pillows that she had pushed against the headboard. He could tell she had taken out the time to change the sheets after their very long night and shower and was now in one of his t-shirts that fit her more like a dress. Her reading glasses were resting above her eyes and her hair was pushed into a neat bun that exposed the column of her neck.

'Welcome home.' she said with a smile as he came through the door. He gave her a dreamy look when she said 'home' but she pretended not to notice. 'Where's Nicolas?'

'I told him to put on his pajamas and join us. What are you doing?' he asked as he handed over the glass of wine he had gotten her then placed the food on top of the comforter before crawling in bed beside her.

Olivia took a sip of her wine and hummed appreciatively at the taste. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before showing him her computer screen with the UPS homepage displayed. She had found a really cute lingerie set online and she wanted to bring it with them to their trip to Tennessee. 'I'm tracking my order. It's supposed to be delivered right on time for our vacation.' she smiled excitedly.

'What'd you order?' he asked as he started to bring the food out of the bags.

'I'm not telling you.' she responded with a coy smile before shutting her laptop and putting it on the nightstand beside her.

Fitz eyebrows quirked at her response and he almost chuckled as he took in her playful expression. He leaned and kissed her neck a few times and allowed his hand to roam under the comforter until he found her smooth thigh. His digits took a nimble path to the hem of her panties and he pulled on them. 'What do you have planned, sunshine?'

She chuckled and tilted her neck, allowing him better access to her skin. 'Well, it's Christmas so I wanted to give you a little something extra to unwrap. Something that I can't put under the tree.' Olivia murmured.

He groaned lowly and felt his cock twitch in his jeans as he tried to imagine what type of sexy lingerie she had picked out. She was an expert, in his opinion, on finding just the right thing to make him go absolutely wild. There was a cute little black set that she wore the first time they had sex. He had been just a little nervous trying to make everything just perfect for them but all his nerves went away once she came out of the bathroom. It was silky and lacy in all the right places and it had a string that could be pulled to make it all unravel before his eyes, leaving her bare and exposed. Then there was the burnt orange garter ensemble that she wore once she officially agreed to be his girlfriend. He wanted to remember what she looked like in it but it was all a blur after he ripped it to shreds. She huffed and pouted about it but he didn't care. He'd buy her 100 more sets if he had to. But then, there was his absolute favorite. It was light purple, lavender if he had to describe it, that she had bought on a business trip to Los Angeles.

Fitz had made dinner reservations for them at one of her approved locations but they were running a few minutes behind because of an issue at work. He was a little annoyed but he was trying his best not to show it. When she came out of the bathroom in nothing but her sexy little bra and panties he almost lost it. He was going to keep his hands to himself until she bent over to get something and revealed that the bottoms were crotchless. The next thing he remembered was bending her over the dresser in the bedroom. They ordered take out that night.

'Am I allowed to get a little preview?' he asked, his tone now husky.

'It's all a surprise, daddy.' she responded with a sly grin.

He growled lowly. It was very rare that she called him that but it drove him absolutely wild. Fitz nearly pounced on top of her but the padding of tiny feet down the hall made him stop. He sighed when he realized Nicolas was coming towards the bedroom and he put some space in between them to calm himself down. She giggled at the disappointed look on his face and took another sip of her wine before placing it on the night stand. They could have some adult fun later on and if she was completely honest she was still sore from last night's adventure against the wall and in the bed and on the dresser and then on the floor. If she didn't know any better she'd believe the man was on steroids but there was another clear indicator that that wasn't true.

Nicolas came running in the room now only in a pair of boxers with monsters all over them and Fitz's laptop in his arms. This wasn't exactly what Fitz was expecting when he told him to get changed but as long as he was comfortable then he didn't care. Olivia laughed at his lack of clothing but then gave him a stern face. 'Nicolas no running in the house!' she scolded lightly.

Fitz grinned and winked at the boy then pulled the covers back for him. The two of them had a different set of 'rules' when Auntie Olivia wasn't around and that included burping loudly, throwing balls in the living room, and definitely running in the house. 'Get over here you little streaker.'

Nicolas put the laptop on the foot of the bed then ran straight into Fitz's arms with a huge grin on his face. He lifted him up high in the air then gently threw him on space between them. Olivia smirked and watched as her two favorite boys wrestled and played and snapped a few pictures of them while they did. The two of them had developed a very unique bond and she loved watching them interact. Sometimes it seemed like they had their own language and it was hilarious.

'Okay, Nick, bless the food.' Olivia broke up their bonding session as she realized their food must have been getting cold.

'Yes, ma'am!' he smiled and nodded his head and shut his eyes tightly and clasped his hands together.

After the prayer was finished Olivia gave Nicki his plastic fork and knife and opened up his to-go container of chicken alfredo and set it carefully in his lap. Olivia turned the television on so that they could watch a movie while they ate and they all sat and enjoyed their nice family dinner. No more than 3 minutes later they heard something scratching the hardwood of the floor in the hallway.

'Fitz you closed Jenkins' cage door, right?' Olivia asked cautiously, referring to his absolutely massive Great Dane.

'Of course.' he nodded his head. They had to close the cage up when they ate because the dog was sure to pounce on them and beg for food.

'I opened it.' Nick said casually as he slurped a noodle into his mouth. 'He looked lonely.'

Olivia's eyes widened as the sound of paws coming towards the bedroom became louder. The dog was obviously looking for them and following the scent of food to get to them. Fitz was just about to jump up and shut the bedroom door when Jenkins came running into the bedroom with his tail wagging fast.

'Jenkins no!' Fitz and Olivia yelled in unison as they tried holding their hands up to stop him but it was way too late. The large dog hopped on the bed and immediately went to get his mouth in their food. After getting a few mouthfuls of Nicki's alfredo he rolled over on his back, covering himself and the bed with food.

Nicolas burst into a fit of giggles and hopped up to lay on top of the dog and hug him. Obviously he thought that their ruined dinner was hilarious. Olivia chuckled and shook her head as she watched the dog rolled around in her plate.

'I guess having Italian for dinner is out of the question.' she half joked.

Fitz snorted. 'The only person having pasta tonight is Jenkins.' he said as he patted the dog's stomach.

An hour or so later, with Jenkins now secure in the backyard with his own food, the three of them went into the kitchen to try and come up with something else to eat. After Nicki suggested chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and broccoli Olivia gathered the ingredients from the freezer and turned the stove on. Fitz shed himself of his jeans and t-shirt in favor of a simple pair of sweatpants while they all worked together to cook. He had a speaker on the kitchen counter that they used to listen to music on and she hooked her phone into it. Most of the selection was newer pop songs that Nicki thoroughly enjoyed but he groaned loudly when he heard a familiar tune play.

'Not this dumb song!' he huffed.

'Hey! Watch your mouth, kid.' she light heartedly scolded and pointed her finger at him.

'What is it?' Fitz asked, his nose crinkling as he tried to recognize the tune.

Olivia's jaw dropped as she looked back fourth and between the two. She rushed over to the rack of clean dishes and utensils and grabbed the large wooden spoon they used to stir things and started using it as a microphone. Nicolas huffed but Fitz's eyebrows raised with intrigue. She loved to sing and dance when it was just them at the house and he found it thoroughly entertaining. The boys watched as she turned her back to them and began shaking her shoulders to the beat of the song. As soon as the beat dropped she turned back around dramatically and started singing.

 _You don't have to be beautiful_  
 _To turn me on_  
 _I just need your body baby_  
 _From dusk till dawn_  
 _You don't need experience_  
 _To turn me out_  
 _You just leave it all up to me_  
 _I'm gonna show you what it's all about_

Nicolas dramatically dropped to the floor and covered his ears in the hopes of tuning his aunt out but Olivia just started singing louder and swaying her hips to the music. He was way too young to understand the lyrics but he wouldn't have cared anyway. He just wanted it to stop. She walked over to where Fitz was standing and took his hand, forcing him to sway slightly to the music.

 _You don't have to be rich_  
 _To be my girl_  
 _You don't have to be cool_  
 _To rule my world_  
 _Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with_  
 _I just want your extra time and your_  
 _Kiss_

Olivia laid an over exaggerated kiss on Fitz's lips and Nicolas thought he would die on the spot. He hopped up to his feet and walked over to where they were standing and tried to break them apart. 'Ew! Ew! Stop kissing!' he begged.

'Do you want me to kiss you instead?' she asked, glancing down at him with a sly smile on her face.

Nicki gasped and shook his head. 'No! No! No!' he pressed his hands to his cheeks to cover them.

'Come here, you!' Olivia playfully growled and dropped the spoon to the floor to pick him up.

Nicolas took off running but she was right behind him making loud kissing noises. Fitz chuckled as he watched them before deciding that he'd join in on their fun. He helped to corner Nicki in the living room and he picked him up into his arms while Olivia laid kisses all over his fair skinned cheeks. He groaned and complained at first but then burst into a fit of giggles as her lips started to tickled his skin.

He squealed loudly as Fitz threw him up and into the air. This was the most fun he had had in the past month since he had been mostly staying with his mother and her new boyfriend. When he was at home he had to stay in his room and play quietly and he didn't get to interact with anybody but he was always treated like a priority when he was with Olivia and Fitz. It was amazing how much he opened up to people when he was given a little love and affection.

Before their play session got too deep the music paused and her phone began to ring. She smirked and gave Nicolas one more kiss before jogging back into the kitchen to see who was calling. She hated that their bonding time was interrupted but it was probably for the best. Somebody had to go check on the chicken nuggets and Olivia knew it wouldn't be Fitz as she watched him continue to bounce Nicolas in the air.

She picked her phone up and her face immediately turned up into an ugly frown when she read the caller id. It was her sister calling but it was very unexpected since she was still supposed to be in Paris enjoying her new boyfriend. Olivia cautiously answered the phone but stepped into the connected dining area to talk. She didn't want Nicolas overhearing whatever his mother was about to say to her.

'Tanya? Why are you calling me?' she asked a little harsher than intended.

Tanya's nose crinkled at the way her sister answered the phone. 'Damn, Liv. All I did was call.'

'I understand that but I'm a little surprised considering that you're out of the country at the moment.' Olivia said, trying to justify her tone.

'That's what I called to tell you. I'm back here in the states. I actually made it a few hours ago. Turns out Kristopher was a huge dickhead and I told him I wanted to come home so he put me on the next flight out.' she explained matter of factly.

'Well, welcome home.' Olivia said dryly. There was a knot forming in her stomach as she realized what was about to happen next and she really wished she was dreaming.

'Thanks. Anyway, where are you? I haven't seen Nicki all week and I'm dying to hold him again.' she said with a huge smile.

She sighed. Tanya did this constantly. She would fall head over heels for some man then push Nicolas off to the side as if he didn't exist. After she got her heart broken, and she always got her heart broken, she'd come running back to him. It would only be a short amount of time before the vicious cycle started all over again.

'We're um..' she hesitated. 'We're at Fitz's condo.'

Tanya grunted. 'Seriously? I'm going to have to drive all the way to Georgetown to get him?'

'Tanya why don't you just let me keep him for a little while longer? We were just about to have dinner and he's already in his pajamas so I'd hate throw to him off his schedule.' she tried reasoning.

'He'll be fine.' she said dismissively. 'I'll be there in like half and hour so pack up his bag. I'll just take him by Wendy's or something on the way home.'

Before she could respond again Tanya hung the phone up. Olivia felt her eyes immediately begin to water as she thought about letting Nicolas go again. She knew this would be nothing but bad news but she couldn't keep her sister away from her child. She clenched her phone to her chest tightly and took a few deep breaths. She knew she would have to bring up the custody agreement situation again.

'Fitz!' she called out to get his attention, her voice slightly cracking as she did. It was crazy how one simple phone call could completely throw off the amazing evening they were having.

Fitz came running into the room a few moments later. He could hear the distress in her voice so he left Nicki in the living room alone while he went to check on Olivia. She had her phone clutched to her chest and he could tell she was trying to be strong but as soon as they made eye contact the water works started and tears started running down her face.

He rushed over to her and hugged her in his arms, allowing her to bury her face into his chest so that she could muffle her cries. He wanted to see what was wrong before Nicolas came running into the room because he heard her sobbing. Fitz began slightly rocking back and fourth, cradling her in his arms.

'Liv, baby, what's wrong?' he asked, kissing the top of her head. When she didn't respond he tried asking again in a softer voice in an attempt soothe her. 'Look at me sunshine. Tell me what's wrong. Tell me what's wrong so we can fix it.'

Olivia finally looked up long enough to talk to him. Her eyes had already gotten puffy, her nose was red, and her cheeks were wet from tears. 'She wants him, Fitz. She wants Nicki.'

'What? Who wants Nicki?' his eyebrows furrowed.

'Tanya.' she said, almost crying as soon as she got the name out.

'I thought she was in Europe.'

'She came back home early. She's here in town and she wants to come pick him up right now.'

Fitz's jaw clenched at the thought. It wasn't fair to any of them that Tanya got to just pop in and out as she pleased with little to no warning and what made it even worse was that she was upsetting Olivia. 'What are we going to do? What do you want to do?'

'I—I guess we have to give him back. I don't know. I cant make her not come. She's still his mother. I can't just keep her away.'

He nodded his head and reached to cup her cheeks into his hands, wiping away her tears gently with his thumbs. 'We're going to go in there and get Nicki ready. There's nothing we can do about it tonight except act normal. We're not going to let him see you cry and we sure as hell wont let Tanya. Okay?'

'Okay.' she nodded her head, still looking up into his eyes. She was used to handling things on her own and she was very good at it but it was moments like these she was glad she had Fitz around to be strong for both of them.

'I'm going to get Nicolas ready. After they're gone we can turn the television off and get in bed and eat ice-cream and you can cry all night. Sound good?' he asked with a small smile before kissing her forehead. 'I love you.'

She giggled under her breath and nodded her head once more. 'I love you, too.'

Fitz smiled and let go of her face and went back into the living room to get Nicolas ready. As soon as he told him his mom would be there soon he started to whine and complain but he tried his best to stay stern with him. He helped him change out of his pajamas while Olivia packed up his suitcase and put some extra snacks in there. While she was sure Tanya wasn't starving him, she knew he liked to snack during the day.

Tanya pulled up in a Uber in 30 minutes just as she said she would and Olivia found herself about to cry again but she stayed strong. Fitz opened the door for her once she arrived and let her in. She was a little taller than Olivia but still short by almost any standards. She was dressed in name brand designer clothes obviously gifted to her from whatever boyfriends she's had in the past because she hadn't worked a day in her life.

She plastered on a huge smile when she saw Nicolas. 'Hi, baby! Mommy's here!'

'Hi, mom.' Nicolas mumbled softly and rubbed his eyes. He felt like crying himself because he was having such a great time and he knew he'd just be sitting at home and watching television with his mother. 'Can I stay here with auntie and uncle?' he asked abruptly.

'What? No.' her nose crinkled. 'I haven't seen you in a while and I want to spend time with my little boy.' she explained then leaned down to hug him.

'That's because you left him here, Tanya.' Fitz said, unaffected by her reunion with her son. He had gotten to know the real Tanya over the past few months and he knew she was only doing this for attention. She certainly didn't have Nicki's best intentions in mind.

Tanya shot Fitz a look but tried her best to smile. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Fitz didn't like her but she tried to ignore him the best she could. She hated that Olivia was dating him but she didn't say much about it. 'It's good to see you, too, Tommy.'

His eyebrows furrowed. Only his fans called him that while his family called him Fitz. They literally weren't even on a first name basis.

Olivia stepped up and handed over Nicolas' bag. She was ready for Tanya to leave so she could just crawl under the covers. 'Nicki has a readin fair tomorrow at 9. You have to have him at school on time tomorrow. Fitz and I plan on attending.'

'A reading fair? They've moved on to books?' Tanya asked seriously.

It took every ounce of her strength not to tackle her sister where she stood. Olivia took a deep breath and nodded her head. 'Nicolas is above reading level. He did his project on The Hungry Caterpillar. It's his favorite story.' she explained before handing the book over to her sister.

'Damn.' she mumbled and looked at the cover of the book. 'Well, okay. I guess we'll see you tomorrow.'

'Tanya please get him there. Fitz and I both took off work to be there to support him.'

'Okay Liv. I got it.' her eyes rolled. She hated when Olivia treated her like a child who didn't understand simple directions. 'Let's go, Nicki.' she took his hand and started leading him towards the Uber that was still waiting outside.

As soon as Fitz shut the door Olivia sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. The worst part of crying for her was that her eyes and cheeks started to hurt so she wanted to stop. She trudged her way back to the kitchen and opened up Fitz's wine cooler to look for a bottle of something she may want. After pulling out a bottle of Merlot she went looking for a bottle opener.

'Why is she like this?' Olivia asked rhetorically as she heard Fitz walk into the kitchen.

'Because she's young and immature and doesn't value Nicolas right now.' Fitz responded, watching her. Her hands were beginning to shake which made it harder for her to open the bottle and he came up behind her.

Olivia's breath hitched when she felt his body pressed into hers but she relaxed into his embrace. He took the bottle opener out of her hands and screwed the screw into the cork then popped it open for her. Fitz leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. 'We're going to work it out. We're going to go and talk to some lawyers first thing tomorrow morning and see what we can do, alright?'

She nodded her head. Olivia turned around in his embrace then put both of her hands on his face before reaching up to kiss his lips. When she pulled away her eyes were starting to water again. 'Can we go to bed?'

'Let's go to bed.' he kissed her once more before picking her up in his arms while she grabbed the bottle and walked them back into the bedroom.

* * *

The next morning, just as Fitz promised, they went to talk to a lawyer who told them that they couldn't remove Nicki just because Tanya didn't practice the best parenting methods. They either needed to get her to sign over her legal rights or they need to prove why she was unfit to raise him on her own. He also warned them that most courts will want to keep them together and suggest Tanya just go to parenting classes and that the road to custody may be a very long one.

After hearing that Olivia felt pretty discouraged although she'd never say that out loud. She had to put a smile on her face before they went to Nicolas' school because she didn't want him to think that anything was wrong. They both had put on a pair of jeans and maroon Casey Elementary shirts that they had gotten from the school months ago.

'Have I told you how absolutely beautiful you look today?' Fitz asked as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. They were still in the car driving but he had gotten a good look at her while she got ready and he stole a couple of glances at the lawyers office. She was only in a simple pair of skinny jeans, tshirt, and matching heels but she still looked beautiful.

Every time he saw her it felt like the afternoon she marched into the locker room and took his breath away.

His comment made her smile for the first time all morning. Olivia blushed and looked down into her lap. She didn't think she'd ever get used to having his full attention and admiration. 'Stop it.' she admonished.

'I'm serious, baby.' Fitz insisted. 'I mean have you even seen the way those jeans are hugging your ass?' his eyebrows quirked. 'I had half a mind to keep you at the house today.'

Olivia finally giggled as she pulled her hand out of his. 'You're such a pervert, Fitz.'

'I can't help it.' he grinned. He had been trying all morning to cheer her up. 'I've got the sexiest woman alive in the car beside me.'

'I'm not the sexiest woman alive, Fitzgerald.' she argued although she was still smiling ear to ear as she listened to his silliness.

'Then you obviously don't see what I see.' they pulled up to a stop light and he turned to face her. 'You got your hair all nice and pretty and you did your makeup this morning and I see that matching manicure and pedicure.' he gestured down to her freshly painted nails.

By now Olivia's cheeks were turning a little red. It always amazed her that Fitz could notice even the smallest little things about her even when she wasn't expecting him to. She rarely ever wore makeup on her days off but she got up earlier this morning to do it since she knew they'd be going to speak with a lawyer.

'Shut up.' she mumbled softly, still looking down to hide the huge grin on her face.

'Sorry, Olivia, but you're going to be listening to me compliment you until the day one of us dies.' he chuckled and rested his hand on her thigh and held it there as he drove.

Once they arrived at the school Fitz parked Olivia's car amongst the other minivans and immediately got out to open her door for her. He took her hand to help her step out of the vehicle and whistled lowly when he got a good look at her.

'How in the world did you fit all of that in these jeans?' he asked before squeezing one of her asscheeks, letting it fill his hand.

Olivia squealed and laughed and swatted his hand away. 'Fitz, stop!' she scolded lowly and glanced around to make sure none of the other parents in the parking lot were watching. 'We're on school property!'

Fitz licked his lips but took hold of her hand instead. 'Do a spin for me.'

'What?' she shook her head. 'No!'

'Yes!' he insisted with a lopsided grin and held her hand up above her head. 'Let me see you.'

She chuckled but acquiesced and did a little spin for him. 'Happy now?'

'Damn.' he muttered before pulling her back into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her nose. 'Do you know how lucky I am?'

Olivia giggle and struggled against his arms to break free. 'What has gotten into you today?'

'I just wanted to show a little appreciation.' Fitz said then reached back into the car to grab her jacket then helped her push her arms through.

She sucked her teeth but kissed his cheek before zipping her jacket up. She wasn't exactly sure why Fitz was acting this way but she thought it was safe to assume it was because this would be their first time together publicly since they revealed they were a couple. Olivia knew that he had been itching to finally let people know and she could tell he was excited.

Even though she was the one who insisted on keeping them a secret, she had to admit it felt good to finally walk out hand in hand with their heads held up high. Not only that she was strangely enjoying all the looks she got from the women at the school. Olivia realized that it was important for publicity that Tommy got the attention of almost every woman in DC, but it was equally as important for them to know that Fitzgerald Grant was spoken for.

The reading fair started at 9 but they were there by 8:30 so they could watch Nicolas' class walk into the library. The kindergarten class was first so they lined up by the door with the rest of the parents and pulled their phones out to take pictures. One by one they watched the little kids come through the door and wave at their families.

'Have you seen Tanya?' Fitz mumbled to Olivia as he looked around the room.

'No. She probably just dropped Nicki off and went back home.' she said, still watching the doorway and waiting for him to come in.

After the teacher walked inside and there was no sign of Nicolas Olivia frowned. 'This is his class. Why isn't he here?'

Fitz sighed and walked over to get his teacher's attention. He had a feeling Tanya wouldn't bring him to school today but he didn't want to break Olivia's spirit. She still had some hope in her little sister and he didn't want to be the reason she lost it.

Nicolas' teacher, Mrs. Farr, was an older Caucasian woman, maybe around 60, who loved kids. She had retired from the high school system years ago and it was probably for the best. She had a very soft voice and personality and was seen as a 'pushover' by most of the older kids. Kindergarten was perfect for her. Her hair was cut short into a bob and her huge glasses took up most of her face.

Olivia tapped Mrs. Farr's shoulder and forced a smile on her face. 'Good morning, Mrs. Farr.'

She squinted her eyes and adjusted her glasses before a huge smile took over her face. 'Miss Pope it's so good to see you this morning!' she exclaimed although with her soft voice it still sounded like a whisper. She reached and hugged Olivia then kissed both of her cheeks. She had always been a very affectionate person. 'How are you?'

'I'm good.' she nodded and kept her nose from crinkling. 'Where's Nicolas?'

Her expression immediately softened. 'Oh my. I assumed he would've come with you. He didn't come to school this morning.'

Olivia wanted to be surprised but she wasn't. She should've known that Tanya wouldn't do right. 'He was with his mother last night.'

'Oh no.' she frowned. She knew the struggle Olivia was having with Tanya and she believed Nicolas would be a lot better off staying with his aunt. She saw Fitz standing there and decided not to ask anymore questions. She didn't know how much he knew about the situation and she didn't want to bring it up in front of him. 'He's worked so hard on his story board. I hate that he had to miss the book fair.'

'I do, too.' she sighed then glanced back at Fitz who was just standing there and listening. 'This is Fitzgerald Grant. He's my boyfriend.'

Mrs. Farr put a small smile on her face then reached to shake his head. 'It's very nice to meet you.'

He nodded his head. 'You as well. Do you all keep a log of the days Nicolas misses and is late?' Fitz asked.

'Yes, of course.' she nodded. 'It's in my classroom.'

'Do you think we can get a copy of that?' Olivia asked.

'I can make you a copy right now, actually.' she said before turning to another teacher and asking her to watch her class for a few moments.

The three of them made their way to Nicolas' classroom quietly. As soon as they entered the room Mrs. Farr shut the door and walked over to her desk and sat down to start digging through her drawers to find some paperwork. 'You both can just make yourself comfortable while I find his folder and make a copy.'

Olivia nodded her head and decided to just look around the classroom. It wasn't hard to find Nicolas' desk because it was clustered amongst his friends and he had clearly decorated it with baseball stickers. He had been working on a picture book story and the title on the front was 'My Hero'. She opened it up and Fitz stood over her shoulder so that he could read along.

Because he didn't have as much help at home, Nicolas' writing skills weren't as strong as some of his peers. His story consisted of a lot of small words and mostly very colorful drawings. Fitz grinned widely when he saw the picture of a man in a Washington Nationals jersey.

'Hey! That's me!' he said smugly. 'I'm his hero.'

Olivia snorted at the cockiness in his voice and shook her head. 'I can't believe it. I give this kid my all and some random guy who throws a ball for a living is his hero.'

'Aw, dont be like that, Liv.' he said, pretending to comfort her. 'Not everybody can be the best baseball player in the world.' he said, pointing down to the picture Nicolas drew of Fitz standing on top of the globe with a baseball in his hand.

'In the world?' her eyebrows quirked. 'Now that's a stretch.'

Fitz chuckled and took hold of her waist and pulled her back into his body causing her to laugh loudly as her back pressed against his chest. Mrs. Farr looked up from what she was doing to see where the noise was coming from and couldn't help but smile a little. She had never seen Olivia with a man before and even she had to admit that they were pretty cute.

'Sorry.' Olivia apologized as her eyes met with the teacher's. She swatted his hands away from her waist and mumbled under her breath. 'Fitzgerald, you're going to get us in trouble.'

'I've been a baaaad boy.' he teased back.

'Don't be cute.' she shook her head and flipped to the next page of the book. It was another picture of Fitz but this time they were in his car. Obviously he was remembering the time he took him racing and Olivia just shook her head again.

'Alright, I've got everything here.' Mrs. Farr said as she stood from her desk and walked over to where they were standing. She had put all the documents into a folder and she handed it directly to Olivia with a separate binder on top. 'The other stuff is the work that he's missed. I really want him to be able to catch up with some of his peers. Nicolas is such a smart little boy. He just needs somebody to sit down and work with him.'

Olivia sighed as she took in all of the worksheets that were in the binder. 'And if he doesn't catch up in time? The school year is almost halfway over.'

'It is.' she nodded her head, eyebrows furrowed. 'We don't really believe in holding a kindergartner back a grade but if he isn't sufficient in his work then—'

Fitz held his hand up to interrupt her sentence. He didn't want to hear another word of it. 'That wont happen. There wont be a what if because we're going to catch up.'

'That's right.' Olivia agreed after taking a deep breath. 'We'll do whatever it takes to get things taken care of.'

'I'm happy to hear that.' she smiled softly. 'Is there anything else you all may need from me?'

'Not right now.' she shook her head then reached to touch the older ladies arm. 'And thank you so much, Mrs. Farr.'

'Please, don't thank me. It was my pleasure.' she smiled a little wider, showing off her false teeth, before walking over to the door to lead them out. Fitz walked out of the room first which gave her a moment to whisper to Olivia. 'I'll support whatever decision you make but I really hope Nicolas finds a permanent home with you.'

'I hope so, too.' Olivia said, her eyes full of hope.

They walked hand in hand back to the car. They didn't even bother to check back in to the book fair. It would've been way too painful to watch all the other kids present their projects while Nicki's table just sat there with nothing on it.

'Do you think his attendance is enough to take to the lawyer?' Fitz asked before opening the passenger side car door for her.

'It's not but its definitely a start.' she sighed and put her seatbelt on.

The next stop they decided to make would be to Tanya's apartment to confront her about Nicolas' absence. Their lawyer had advised them not to anger her in anyway before they started dealing with he custody issue so they were going to try their best to just reason with her. She didn't stay in the best of neighborhoods but it was the most she could afford since she was living boyfriend to boyfriend. Life would've been so much easier if she just tried to get a job and make her own way but she refused.

Olivia knocked on the door a few times but when she didn't get an answer she used her spare key to open it up. It was a simple 2 bedroom but it was cluttered with clothes and whatever else Tanya kept laying around. The television was still on from last night and she could tell Nicolas had been there watching because he had all of his toys lined up in front of it. He always enjoyed acting out the scenes he saw with his action figures.

'Tanya!' Olivia called out as she started walking through the living room. She put her purse down on the coffee table and peeked around the corner of the hallway. Usually if Nicolas heard her voice he'd come running but she assumed he must have been asleep.

'What?' Tanya groaned as she came from her bedroom dressed in nothing but a silk robe causing Fitz to immediately look down to the carpet. 'Wow. You have him well trained.' she chuckled and flopped down on the couch.

Olivia rolled her eyes. 'Just because he doesn't want to see you parade around in lingerie doesn't mean he's trained. It means he's trying to respect boundaries.'

'Whatever.' her eyes rolled much like Olivia's. Neither of them would ever admit it but they were a lot alike. 'Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you guys be at work?'

'We're looking for Nicolas. Is he still asleep?' she asked, ignoring her attitude. She was trying her best to follow the lawyers advice but it was taking everything in her not to tackle her sister.

'No.' her head shook. 'He should be at school.'

'What?' Fitz's head finally shot up. Tanya was very beautiful but Fitz didn't find himself attracted to her at all. It was probably the nasty attitude she had. 'Did you drop him off?'

'I dont have to. He's supposed to ride the Metro with his class in the mornings.' she explained as if it was so obvious.

'Tanya!' Olivia hissed. 'Did you take him to the Metro stop?'

'He told me he knows how to get there.' her nose crinkled. 'What's this all about?'

'We just left Casey and Mrs. Farr said he didn't show up to school today!' Olivia yelled, her eyes widening.

'That's impossible!' Tanya stood from her seat and pulled her phone out of her robe pocket. 'I'm going to call the school right now and they're going to say that he came this morning!'

'Tanya you're wasting time!' Fitz ran his fingers through his hair. He was trying his best not to panic because he knew Olivia was going to be doing enough of that for the both of them soon.

'Shut up!' she hissed back as the phone started ringing. The school picked up on the 2nd ring. 'Hello? This is Tanya Pope and I wanted to make sure that my son Nicolas Pope arrived at school on time this morning.'

Olivia started pacing in circles, something she did when she was worried about something. She started thinking about all the places Nicolas could've ended up and she pulled out her phone to text Abbey and let her know Nicki was missing. She knew she'd take off work to help them look.

Tanya's skin almost went pale as she hung the phone up. 'They said he was never signed in this morning.'

'We don't have time for this!' Fitz almost growled before taking hold of Olivia's arm. 'We're going to go look. You need to call the police station. Now!'

'Wait! I'll go with you guys!' Tanya said, trying to hold them up.

'We don't have time to wait for you to get dressed!' Fitz responded, nearly pulling Olivia out of the apartment.

They both ran back downstairs and got into their car and went on the search for Nicolas. Instead of calling the police station Tanya got dressed herself and got together a few of her own friends to start the search. The thought of losing Nicolas was driving her absolutely crazy especially since it was her fault and she was now in a frenzy. All she could see was images of her little boy laying face down in a ditch and she was now crying hysterically in the backseat of her friend's car.

* * *

Around 12pm Olivia's phone started to ring. She thought about ignoring it when she saw that it was an unknown number but answered anyway. Whoever it was would have to call back later because they were currently walking all around DC looking for any place Nicki could be. Abbey and Leo had joined them in their search.

'Hello?' she asked, her voice sharp.

'This is Officer Bryant from the DCPD. Is this Olivia Pope?' the officer asked on the other end, his voice calm and smooth compared to hers.

'Yes! Yes! This is she!' she hit Fitz's arm a little harder than initially intended to to grab his attention.

'We have your nephew here at the station. Nicolas Pope.'

'Oh thank God!' she exclaimed, looking up to the sky and almost shedding a tear of joy. 'Is he alright?'

'He's doing just fine.' the officer confirmed. 'He just needs to be picked up and we have a few questions that need answers.'

'Of course, of course!' she gestured for everyone to start following her back to the car so they could head back to the station. 'We can be there in 5 minutes!' she said before hanging up.

'Do they have him down at the station?' Abbey asked as they were all running to try and get back to Olivia's car.

'Yes! They said he's fine!'

'Thank heavens.' Leon groaned lowly. He wasn't a very religious man himself but even he had to admit he had grown to love the kid. Even his blood pressure had raised at news of him missing.

Olivia sent a quick text to Tanya to meet them down at the station as Fitz got in the car to drive there. It was usually a 10 minute ride but the way he was dipping ad dodging through traffic it only took a 5 minutes just as Olivia predicted. All 4 of them ran through the station doors and were promptly met by Officer Bryant who suspected the panicking family to cause a scene once they made it to the station.

'Are you Officer Bryant? Where's Nicolas? Can we see him?' Olivia started spouting off questions before even shaking the man's hand. She was looking all around, expecting to see him sitting around and waiting.

'Woah, woah, woah.' the man shook his head. 'Yes I am Officer Bryant. Nicolas is in the back talking with one of our counselors. He should be done in the next few minutes.'

'Can we take him home after this?' Fitz asked as he wrapped his arm around Olivia's waist, hoping to calm her down.

'And you are?' Officer Bryant's eyebrows raised. He knew exactly who Fitz was but he couldn't just go giving out private information to just anyone no matter how famous they were.

'I'm the one who's going to have your fucking badge if you don't—' before Fitz could finish his sentence Leon took hold of his other arm and started pulling him backwards.

Olivia sighed. 'Can you just let me see my nephew?'

'I can't.' he shook his head. 'I can only release him after I get a signature of a parent or legal guardian.'

She groaned loudly to show her displeasure and Abbey took hold of her hand. 'Why don't we just sit down and wait on Tanya to get here? The officer already said he was doing fine so now we just need to wait.' she tried to soothe.

'Fine, fine.' she conceded before following her back to the bench where Leon and Fitz were sitting.

It took Tanya another 20 minutes to get there and she saw them sitting first. 'Where is he? Is he okay?'

'He's fine.' Leon confirmed with a head nod. 'They're just waiting for you to sign him out.'

'They've already questioned Fitz and I but they want to talk to you, too.' Olivia said, standing to her feet. She walked up to the front counter to talk to the receptionist. 'My sister Tanya is here now. Can we see my nephew?'

The lady looked up and met eyes with Tanya before sliding some paperwork over to her. 'I need to see 2 forms of identification and then I need you to come behind the counter to speak with some of our detectives.'

'Why?' Tanya questioned before taking the clipboard. 'We haven't done anything wrong. Why are we being interrogated?'

'Tanya!' Olivia hissed. She could only imagine Nicolas in the back room terrified and Tanya was just wasting time being difficult. 'Just sign the damned paperwork!'

'Fine, fine!' she rolled her eyes and started signing her name in the required spots.

A few moments later Officer Bryant returned from the back. They couldn't see Nicolas over the counter but the extra set of foot steps let them know that he was with him. Once the latch on the small gate was open he came running towards his family.

Tanya bent over to hug her son but much to her surprise he ran right past her and into Olivia's waiting arms. She watched as her sister covered his little face and hair in kisses and held him tight enough to nearly choke him to death. Fitz was next as he put his arm around Olivia to console her as she was starting to cry tears of joy.

She felt like an outsider amongst her own family.

'Ms. Pope.' Officer Bryant tapped her shoulder to grab her attention. 'Nicolas is free to go but we need to see you for questioning in the back.'

'What?' her eyebrows furrowed. 'I need to take my son home. Can't this wait for another day?'

'We can take him home.' Fitz said, interrupting their conversation.

'I— I. Okay. That's alright I suppose.' she agreed sadly as she started following the officer back behind the counter. She called out to Nicolas before going behind the door. 'Mommy will come get you later, Nicki!'

Nicolas didn't even bother to turn around as his head was still buried in Olivia's neck. It was right then in that moment that Tanya realized that her own son cared more about his aunt than his own mother and she didn't like that. She didn't like that at all.

Fitz tapped Olivia's back. He hated to break up their moment but he knew they couldn't just sit in the police station all afternoon. 'Why don't we all go get some ice cream?'

Olivia sniffled before standing up straight. 'That sounds good.'

With that the five of them exited the police station and got into Olivia's car to go get some ice cream. Nobody else was thinking of it but Leon made a note of the activities of the day in his phone. He knew they would need it when they spoke to their lawyer this week.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Lots of people requested a new chapter and somebody threatened to cause me bodily harm if I didnt continue it so here's chapter two! I didn't put anything too sexy in this chapter. It wouldn't have felt right considering that they were dealing with so much. I don't imagine this story going on for more than 2 more chapters but we'll see. I have a few more things I'm excited to publish so we'll see! Also I did almost no proof reading to this so let me apologize in advance for any mistakes you see lol.**_

 _ **Also I know that the system works a little differently about who gets to see a student's attendance information but I'm just going off of how things are where I am. I babysit and since I'm on the approved pick up and drop off list I can see my kid's attendance sheets and stuff.**_

 _ **Next chapter we're going to get rid of Tanya and we'll see how Fitz proposes. Also if youre keeping up with my other stories then The Gray Area is next on the update list!**_

 _ **Thank you all again for all of your supportive reviews, Tweets, and messages. I'm not being sarcastic when I saw I love seeing you all fanning over something I wrote. I'm glad that you all enjoy the things that I put out! It means a lot to me!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Tanya fidgeted nervously in the backroom of the police station and glanced down at the tiny cup of water that was given to her. Her throat was feeling a bit dry but she couldn't bring herself to sip it as she noticed the small specks of dirt spinning around it. She had never been to jail before and thought they were going to be chain her up in handcuffs and tie her legs to the table but it was nothing like that. The room was small and damp with a boarded up window on one of the walls and a mirror on the other one. The officer handling the case, she believed his name was Officer Bryant, had left the room to get something and now she was awkwardly staring at the wall in front of her.

During the time she was waiting she couldn't help but to think back to how in the world she ended up in this position. Growing up she was always more of the 'wild child' while Olivia was the one who brought home the good grades, did all of the extra curricular activities, and never got into any trouble. Their family originally stayed in downtown New York but by the time Tanya was born they had moved to a more rural area. There was nothing to do in their small community except go to school and go home so when she fell in love at 13 with a man much older than her, he had all of her attention. When she ended up getting pregnant at 14 the whole entire family was devastated and he dipped out of her life before Nicolas was even born.

Instead of working on growing up and maturing for the sake of her son, Tanya rebelled against everything that she knew she was supposed to do. At the time she was still staying at home with her parents and they helped to raise Nicolas while she disappeared for days at a time. At first it was because she was afraid of sticking around too long. It seemed like all Nicki did was cry and cry and cry and she didn't have the first clue on how to help it and she didn't want to make it any worse. Once he was older, though, it was because she didn't want to be bothered with raising a child. She still wanted to go hang out and party with her friends but she couldn't do that while carrying a toddler on her hip.

After high school she intended on getting a little job at a fast food restaurant or in retail but her parents had other plans. Once she found out they went behind her back and filled out some college applications for her she was furious. It was then that she took Nicolas and moved out of her parents house and found the cheapest apartments she could find to live in. She became dependent on government assistance and whatever man was giving her his money, attention, and time.

It was then that Olivia started to step up and help her with Nicolas. At first it started off small with Olivia giving her money to buy baby clothes and toys but it quickly progressed from that. Before Tanya knew it her sister was picking Nicolas up from school, driving him around to doctors appointments, and he had started to spend all of his weekends with her. It was convenient for her because that still meant that she had time to do her own thing without having to worry about Nicki and his well being.

At first Tanya didn't have an issue with giving custody over to Olivia. It seemed like a pretty good deal, honestly. She could come see Nicolas whenever she wanted but didn't have to deal with all the ins and outs of being a parent. She was seriously considering it until she watched what happened today.

As soon as Nicki was released from the officer instead of running to her he went straight to Olivia and hugged her and wouldn't let go. At first she was just disappointed but that had turned into pure anger since she had been sitting there. She felt as if Olivia was trying to replace her as Nicolas' mother and the thought alone made her blood absolutely boil. The fact that Fitz was there didn't make the situation any better.

She thought that Olivia dating Fitz would just be some little fling that wouldn't last long, but yet here they were more in love than ever. It was very unlike her sister to fall for some pretty boy with nice hair but Fitz seemed to be the exception to this. All Nicolas ever yapped about was 'Uncle Fitz' this and 'Uncle Fitz' that and she was sick and tired of it. It seemed like Olivia was trying to basically force an absolute stranger into their family's lives and Tanya didn't like it one bit.

Not only that, it was pretty obvious that Fitz didn't like her, either. He never came straight out and said it but it was always painfully obvious by the way he looks at her.

'Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Pope.' Officer Bryant said as he came through the door and broke Tanya out of her train of thought. 'But I wanted to go grab a tape recorder so I can make sure I get everything you said.'

Her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't understand why she had to be recorded or what type of questions they'd be asking her. 'Did you record my sister and her boyfriend?'

Bryant took a mental note of her defensiveness as he took his seat. 'We didn't have to interview them. You were the last person to be seen with Nicolas this morning and we just want to see what happened.'

She sighed. 'I already told you what happened. We—'

The officer shook his head. 'I know but I just need to get an official statement. Are you ready to begin recording.'

Tanya sighed but nodded her head and took a sip of her water. 'Whatever.'

'Great.' he nodded his head and touched the device so it would start recording. 'Please, in your own words, tell me exactly what happened.'

After rolling her eyes, tired of explaining herself, Tanya started to tell her story once more. 'I picked Nick up last night from my sister's boyfriend's house in Georgetown and—'

'Why was he in Georgetown and not with you?' he asked, interrupting but analyzing her body language as she spoke.

'I went on vacation with a friend and its not unlike Nicolas to spend time with his aunt.' she explained before Bryant gestured for her to continue her story. 'I picked him up in an Uber and he was acting all sad and upset but I figured it was because he was tired. We made it back to our apartment and I told him he needed to go to bed. We got into a little argument because he said he wasn't sleepy but I made him go to his bedroom anyway.'

'The next morning I got him up for school and brushed his hair and then I walked him towards the Metro. The neighborhood moms get together every morning and one of them volunteers to ride with the kids to school. I didn't want to have to swipe my card to get in so I kissed him goodbye and he left to find his group. After that I went back home and got in bed and later on my sister came bursting through the door to tell me he never made it school.' she explained, assuming that the officer would believe her story.

Officer Bryant nodded. 'Thank you for your account of the events, Miss Pope. Because Nicolas was missing we made a call to Child Protective Services. They're going to be in contact with you very soon and they'll probably want to schedule a home visit with you and maybe do another interview.'

'Why do we need to get CPS involved? Nicolas was found safe and sound and—'

'It's just protocol, Miss Pope.' he said dismissively, not wanting to alarm her so she'd do something stupid. 'I suggest you comply with everything they ask of you.'

Tanya sighed but nodded her head. 'Am I free to go now?'

He nodded. 'You're free to go.'

She quickly got up and left the room before he decided he needed anything else from her. Her main focus right then was to figure out where her sister had gone with Nicolas so that she could check on him herself. Before Tanya could even dial her sister's cellphone number she was getting a call from CPS.

* * *

Sprinkles was a small ice-cream shop close to the baseball stadium and the group decided to stop there to get a midday treat. After having such a traumatizing day nobody felt like forcing Nicki to go to school for the last 2 hours of the day. Usually the area was filled with kids running around in the fountains outside but the temperature was starting to drop in DC so everyone was inside trying to keep warm.

Nicolas hadn't said one word since they picked him up from the police station and Officer Bryant had told them that he hadn't said much to the counselor, either. Olivia's worst fear was that something traumatic had happened and that he was too afraid to speak on it. Nicki tended to be a very happy and affectionate kid so seeing this behavior from him was surprising even under the circumstances. Today he was quiet and shy and barely wanted to look any of them in the eyes at all.

When they arrived at the shop it was around 2pm and there were only a few other people there. Abbey and Leo ordered their icecream first them found them a table to sit at while Olivia and Fitz stayed behind with Nicki. They were regulars at the shop because they brought Nicolas in all the time and because 'Tommy' was always a fan favorite. The ladies behind the counter loved it when he came to visit and Olivia didn't mind them flirting with him as long as he knew who he belonged to.

'Hey, Allstar!' cooed one of the ladies from behind the counter as she peered down at Nicolas. 'Why the long face today?'

Nicolas had been standing in front of Olivia with his back pressed against her thighs. He had been using her as some type of security blanket since they picked him up and he didn't feel like disconnecting from her at all. As soon as he realized that the lady was talking to him he turned his body around so that he could hide his face away in her hips.

Olivia smiled apologetically at the woman, still a little shocked at his behavior. 'We've had a hard day today.' she whispered as a signal for them not to push it.

'Aw man, I'm sorry to hear that. But I think I know what will cheer him up.' she smiled and opened up the bar and spooned out 3 scoops of cookie dough icecream, Nicki's favorite, and put it in a blue cup with a blue spoon. 'My favorite ice-cream always makes me feel better.'

After realizing that Nicolas wasn't going to turn around and get the icecream himself, Olivia reached over to grab it from the woman who now had a concerned look on her face. As she tried walking forward so that they could pay for their desserts, Nicki continued to cling to her thigh, making it extremely difficult to walk.

Fitz raised his eyebrows then reached down and grabbed Nicolas underneath his arms and picked him up so that Olivia could move forward. Nicki purposely made his body go limp, making it harder for Fitz to hold him upright, and he reached out to grab his aunt's arm. He whined loudly as he watched her pay for the ice-cream and didn't stop until Fitz put him back down on the floor so that he could hold onto her once more.

For the next 45 minutes or so they all sat around trying their best to engage Nicki in some type of conversation although it didn't seem to be working quite how they wanted. He would occasionally answer questions by shaking or nodding his head but wouldn't give any verbal responses which was now making Olivia worry more. He insisted on sitting in her lap and had barely touched any of his ice-cream. Leo, who had missed lunch to help look for him earlier that day, took it upon himself to finish the ice-cream. No need for it to go to waste.

There was a metro station not far from the ice-cream shop and Abbey and Leo decided to ride the train instead of getting back in the car with Fitz and Olivia. Nicolas allowed Fitz to carry him but he kept his eyes trained on his aunt as if he was afraid that she would vanish into thin air if he looked away too long. The men walked ahead while Olivia and Abbey stayed behind and talked amongst one another.

'Do you think Tanya is going to try to come get him tonight?' Abbey asked quietly, still working on her ice-cream as they walked. She was notorious for being a slow eater and most of her food had melted but she was still enjoying it.

'I hope not but that's the least of my worries right now. Nicki seems traumatized about something. I just hope nothing happened to him.' she fretted.

Abbey shook her head, wanting to believe the best. 'I'm sure he's fine but being out in the city by himself all day probably shook him up a little. It probably didn't help that he had to be at the police station by himself.'

'I hope you're right, Abbey.' Olivia sighed.

'Leo has been taking notes all day about what happened. I'll email it to you so you can send it to the lawyer in the morning. No court in America would put Nicki back in Tanya's care after they hear about what's been going on.' she assured.

'I've really been wanting to avoid testifying against my sister.' she said as she took hold of her ear and slightly tugged on it. It was a habit that she had since she was younger and she had obviously passed it down to Nicolas because he did the same thing when he was nervous.

This was one of the worst parts of trying to pursue custody of her nephew. Olivia hated the way that Tanya treated Nicolas and she realized that she was just an immature, spoiled brat; but that was still her baby sister. She had no doubt that Tanya loved her son but she just loved herself more and nobody suffered except Nicolas.

The thought of having to get on a stand and air all of her families dirty laundry to a room full of strangers really bothered her. It would be much easier if Tanya would willingly give up custody but after today's events she had a feeling that she wouldn't go down without a fight.

'We're going to be behind you every step of the way.' she assured. 'Have you talked to your parents yet?'

'I'm going to call them tonight.' Olivia said more to herself than to Abbey. She especially didn't want to drag them into this. 'But I really wished I didn't have to pull them into the middle of this.'

'Liv, they're your family. They're already in the middle of it. If anybody can talk some sense into your sister then it's probably your mom and dad.' Abbey reasoned.

'They haven't spoken since Tanya moved out last year.' Olivia shook her head. 'I don't think she's going to listen to a word they say.'

'It's worth a shot.' she shrugged.

* * *

Once they all made it back to Fitz's penthouse they struggled to figure out what their next move would be. They didn't want him to miss anymore work but they also didn't want to force him to do homework after the day he had. They didn't want to make him go to bed early but they also didn't want him to miss school the next day. They didn't want to force him to eat anything but they also knew he probably hadn't had much that day.

Luckily for both of them, Nicolas seemed to be moving around on his own once they made it home. When he walked into the living room he took his shoes off and put them in the designated spot on the rack then went and sat in the middle of the floor in front of the television. Fitz's dog trotted out to greet him and plopped his head in Nicki's lap to be petted.

'I think it'll be alright if he misses tomorrow.' Olivia suggested under her breath to Fitz as they stood from afar and watched.

'I think that'll be best.' he nodded his head in agreement. It sometimes amazed him to know how much influence Olivia allowed him to have in the way Nicki was being raised but he loved it.

'I'm just worried about him.' she said, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to keep herself from crying. 'What if he's been hurt and he doesn't want to tell us? What if somebody threatened to do something to him? What if—'

'Hey, hey.' he cut her off. Fitz took hold of both of her hips and turned her body towards him. He could tell she was getting ready to cry but she didn't need to do it right there in front of Nicki. 'Let's not think that way. We're going to talk to him and see what's going on but until then we aren't going to assume the worse. There's no need to get yourself so riled up for something that didn't happen.'

'I know.' she sighed and nodded, acknowledging he was right.

'Come here, sunshine.' he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, allowing his lips to linger there. He had never felt her so muscles so tense and he made a mental note to make sure she got a massage once all this was over.

Fitz lead Olivia over to the couch in the living room and they sat beside each other, content to watch whatever Nicolas had playing on television at the moment. Olivia unbuckled her heels for the first time that day and tossed them to the side and Fitz instinctively pulled her feet into his lap. He could only imagine how they felt after a full day of running around town looking for Nicki.

For the next few hours Nicolas mostly just sat quietly and watched television. He kept his eyes trained to the screen but would occasionally check behind his shoulder to make sure that Olivia was still in the room or if she left to use the restroom or get something to eat he would poke his head down the hall to make sure she was still there.

His usual bedtime was 8pm but by 6 Nicolas was falling asleep right where he sat. They thought they were going to have to fight him to get him in bed but he calmly stood to his feet and walked over to where they were sitting.

'I'm ready to take my bath.' he mumbled one of the only things he had said all day and rubbed his eyes.

Fitz nodded. Usually he was the one who handled the bedtime routine which gave them a lot of quality male bonding time. He gently put Olivia's feet down on the floor and stood up. 'Let's go, buddy.'

Nicolas shook his head and put his hands on Olivia's knees. 'Auntie can you do bath time tonight?'

Olivia's eyebrows raised, surprised at his request. She glanced up at Fitz who simply shrugged his shoulders and sat back down on the couch. Nicolas worked to pull Liv up from her seat and she followed behind him towards his bedroom to gather his sleeping clothes.

Once they made it to the bathroom connected to Nicolas' room he immediately started to undress and Olivia sat down on the toilet and watched him. Bath time was usually full of laughs and giggles but tonight the only thing heard was Nicki occasionally yawning and the television on in the other room.

Once he was in the bathtub Olivia kneeled beside him and grabbed his bottle of Paw Patrol bath soap and poured it onto his sponge. She handed it off to Nicolas and watched as he rubbed it underneath his armpits.

'Do you want to talk to me, Nicki?' she asked as she watched him to make sure he did a good job. He had been bathing alone for a while but it wasn't unlike him to just hop in the water and come right back out so he could go play. It wasn't his favorite part of the night.

'A little.' he murmured, averting his eyes from hers.

'Can you tell me about what happened today, Nicki? Where did you go?' she prompted as she reached to take his long hair out of its bun. It was done in a braid so she had to unravel it and gently rake her fingers through his tresses.

'I went to the normal place where my class meets to leave but when I got there they were all getting on the train and I couldn't get on fast enough. I tried running as fast as I could but the doors shut and you always say don't try and get on so I wont get hurt.' he explained softly.

'So what did you do? Did you go ask for help?' Olivia asked as she took some of his shampoo into her hands and began running her fingers through his scalp.

'I tried but nobody was listening to me. Then I tried going to the man that sits at the station but there was so many people and I couldn't reach him.'

Olivia figured that around 7:30 that morning, right around the time Nicolas was there the station, it would've probably been crawling with commuters all in a rush trying to get to work on time. She could imagine how easily a small boy with nothing but a backpack on his back could get lost in the crowd.

'I bet that was scary, huh? Being around all those big people without anybody there with you.' she sympathized.

'Ya.' Nicolas nodded. 'That's why whenever we go places I should always hold your hand so I don't get lost, right?'

'You're right. Now tell me what happened after you couldn't get any help.' she encouraged as she massaged his scalp the way he liked. She could see his body start to relax as she worked her fingers in his head.

'Then I tried getting on the train by myself because I didn't want to miss the book fair but I couldn't remember which way to go.' Nicolas huffed. 'I sat down on the train but I didn't see anymore kids on there so I got off. I thought I had made it to the right place so I got off the train and went up this really big escalator. It was a bunch of people singing and dancing and one of them asked me for a dollar but I didn't have any money.'

'What else did you see?'

'I saw that movie theater you took me to when we went to see Moana.' he said with a small smile.

Olivia smiled back at him. She knew exactly where he was talking about but he was a long way from his school. He must have gotten on the wrong train because the movie theater was in the opposite direction.

'I ran away from the man that asked me for a dollar because he was yelling at me and I got scared. It was a lot of people there, too, and everybody was walking so fast and somebody bumped me and I fell down on my knees.'

'Did you get hurt?' she asked as she glanced down at his knees to check for any scratches or bruises.

'No.' he shook his head. 'But the man said " _Watch where you're going kid_!" and kept walking away after that. I kept trying to ask people to help me but nobody was listening to me.' he said sadly.

Olivia took a small cup they had set aside and ran the water through his wavy hair to wash all the soap out. It broke her heart to know that out of all the people Nicolas came across not one of them would even stop to ask him if he was lost or needed help. She couldn't imagine seeing a 5 year old by himself in the middle of DC and not stop to see what was wrong.

'Then I passed by this store and they were selling baseball stuff in there so I went inside because I thought they would know Uncle Fitz. They had a bunch of shirts with Uncle Fitz on there and I tried telling the man in there that he was my uncle but he didn't believe me and told me to leave and go to school.'

She almost chuckled at that part. Olivia could imagine that most people didn't believe Nicki when he told them that Fitz was his uncle. 'Did anybody else pick on you? Did anybody touch you in your no-no spots?'

Nicolas shook his head. 'Nobody touched me in my no-no spots, auntie.'

After hearing that Olivia let go of a breath she didn't even realize she was holding in. Her biggest fear was that something had happened to him while he was lost but it seemed like he was just a bit shook up. 'How did you make it to the police station?'

'I went to the park and found somebody in a police uniform. I told him that my name was Nicolas Ramone Pope and that I was 5 years old and that I went to Casey Elementary School and that I was lost. He took me for a ride in his police car and he asked me a lot of questions but I was too scared to answer them. He gave me the phone so I could call you but you didn't answer the phone at your work.'

Olivia smiled. 'That's because Uncle Fitz and I were at your school this morning at the book fair so that we could see you. Did you try calling my other number?'

'No.' he shook his head. 'I was going to call Uncle Fitz next but when I told them who he was they didn't believe me and took the phone from me. How come nobody believes he's my uncle?'

'Because he has a job where a lot of people know him but nobody knows about his family. He's a famous person.'

'Well, he needs a new job.' Nicolas reasoned. 'The police officers called my school and got your phone number and then they called you. I was happy when they said you were coming to get me.'

'It made me happy when they told me they had found you.' Olivia said as she stood to her feet and grabbed a towel so that he could step out of the bathtub. 'We were looking everywhere for you all morning long.'

'Was my mom looking, too?' he asked as he stood up from the bathtub and stepped into her waiting arms so that he could wrap himself up in the towel.

'Even your mom.' she confirmed with a nod.

'Auntie, I don't like living with her anymore. I want to come stay with you and Uncle Fitz.' he confessed.

'I know. We want you to come stay with us, too.' she replied and pressed her forehead against his. 'But it may take a little while. Your mommy still loves you very much and she still wants you to stay with her.'

'No, she doesn't.' he shook his head. 'She doesn't even care about me.'

Olivia's heart nearly broke into two pieces. She couldn't imagine feeling like her own mother didn't love her. 'Yes she does, Nicki. She just has a really hard time showing it.'

Nicolas' bottom lip poked out pitifully. 'I don't like it there. Uncle Fitz said that we were a family and families all live with each other.'

'We're all a family but sometimes families don't stay together. I'm going to do the best I can to make sure that you're safe and happy, okay?' she placed both of her hands on his cheeks and used her thumbs to force his lips up into a smile.

He giggled in spite of himself and nodded. 'Okay.'

'Good.' she smiled and stood to her feet. 'Let's go get you in some pajamas.'

Nicki followed behind Olivia into his bedroom and disposed of his towel and started rummaging through his sleep clothes. After being indecisive for a while he opted to wear his Spiderman top with his Batman bottoms then crawled into the bed where Olivia was sitting. She worked his hair into two long braids then twisted them together then helped him crawl under the covers.

'I think it's almost time for somebody to get a haircut.' Olivia suggested.

'Not me, auntie.' he shook his head. 'I want to grow my hair forever.'

Olivia chuckled and leaned down to kiss his forehead then pulled the covers up over his body. 'Pleasant dreams and have a good night.'

'And don't let the bed bugs bite.' he responded, finishing off their nightly mantra.

As Olivia stood up to walk out of his bedroom Nicolas took hold of her hand and stopped her. 'I wish you were my real mommy.'

She blinked a few times to ward away the tears that were threatening to fall. Olivia had been strong the entire day but just that one sentence threatened to tear the facade apart. Determined not to cry in front of Nicolas she sniffled and squeezed down on his hand.

'No matter who your real mommy is I will always love you and take care of you. You believe me?'

'I believe you.' he nodded and finally released her fingers.

Olivia gave him one more tight lipped smile then walked out of his bedroom and quietly shut the door behind her. As soon as she heard the knob click she pressed her back against the wood and put her face into her hands as her eyes began to sting once more. She had never felt more helpless in her life.

* * *

The next day for them seemed even worse than the last. They decided to give Nicolas the day off from school so that he could rest for a little while. He was usually pretty excited to go but this morning when they walked into his room he was laying on his stomach and snoring. Olivia simply shut the curtains in his room then went to meet Fitz in the kitchen.

'What's your day look like?' she asked him as she shoved her phone and portfolio into her oversized Michael Kors purse.

'I took the whole day off to spend with Nicolas. I figured you wouldn't be able to get off work two days in a row.' Fitz responded as he poured some coffee into a bright yellow travel mug. After sealing the top he handed it off to her. 'Hazelnut latte, one cream, no sugars.'

It wasn't until then that Olivia realized that Fitz was wearing an apron with nothing on under it but his black Adidas sweatpants. She kept in her giggle but it was truly hilarious to see how domesticated he was becoming. Before they were together he never cooked a meal, he rarely went to bed early and he certainly never wore an apron.

'Wow. I knew there was a reason we were together.' she smiled and pecked his lips. 'You two have fun. Try going over some of his assignments with him once he gets up. I'm going to call his teacher and see what's going on.'

'I will.' he nodded. 'Have you heard from Tanya?'

Olivia sighed and shook her head. 'No. Not one thing. I guess I'll call the police station as well to see whats going on. I don't know if she was taken into custody or what.'

'You call the police station and I'l handle the school. I'll also call the lawyer up today and tell them all about yesterday's events. They may want a statement from you as well.' he suggested as he took hold of her hips and brought her body closer to his, their pelvis' colliding together. 'You're going to run yourself ragged if you try doing everything on your own, sunshine. I'm still here to help you.'

Fitz had long decided that he would let Olivia handle anything that directly correlated with Tanya. As much as they couldn't stand her he knew that she still cared for her sister and he didn't want to cross any boundaries. He would only step in if she asked him for his help.

'I know.' she smiled and nodded her head. 'And I appreciate you.'

Fitz smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. As soon as their lips touched Olivia began to nibble lightly at his bottom lip and she immediately slid her tongue into his mouth as he opened it. She ran her free hand up and down his exposed side until she reached the hem of his sweatpants. He flinched away from her touch when her fingertips dipped into the waistband of his pants.

'Don't start anything you cant finish.' he grunted against her mouth as he tried to control himself.

Olivia smiled softly. They had been so wrapped up in yesterday's events that they ended up falling right asleep and there was definitely no time for a morning quickie. 'I always finish what I start, daddy.' she said lowly, knowing that it would drive him absolutely crazy.

Fitz growled lowly. 'Olivia you're not going to make it to work on time if you don't stop.' he warned.

'Can I just get one little squeeze before I go?' she poked her bottom lip out cutely, determined to tease him.

'No.' he chuckled and shook his head but didn't move to stop her hand that was now traveling further into his pants. He took hold of her chin, keeping her head in place as he assaulted her mouth once more. Fitz could feel himself getting hard as he thought about bending her over the counter top and fucking her right there.

'Ew! Stop kissing!' Nicolas squealed from the doorway causing them both to jump away from each other.

Olivia gasped and immediately straightened out her clothes. Nicki was standing in the doorway with his pajamas on and rubbing his big, brown sleepy eyes. As much as she didn't want to be interrupted she was glad he was finally awake.

'Why do you guys kiss so much? Every time I wake up you guys are kissing.' he complained.

'Well, then you should be used to it by now, sport.' Fitz teased lightly as he calmed himself down and walked over to the stove. He had already put the pancake mix together for breakfast but was waiting for him to get up to actually put them on the stove.

'You kiss too much.' he whined before making his way over to the kitchen table, dragging his feet as he did. 'Is it almost time for school?' he asked, unaware that he was over an hour late.

'Uncle Fitz and I decided that you could stay home from school today so that you could rest.' Olivia responded as she walked over to the fridge to grab some grapes that she could snack on during the ride to work.

Nicki's jaw dropped. 'But I want to go to school. It's the second day of the book fair and I already missed the first one!'

'But me and you are going to spend the whole day together here, buddy!' Fitz countered as best he could. 'We're going to have so much fun.'

It quickly became obvious that Nicolas didn't agree with their logic whatsoever. Olivia thought about just getting him dressed and taking him but his eyes were big and puffy and had bags under them so one day of rest wouldn't kill him.

'You can go tomorrow. Uncle Fitz and I will come with you and you can show us all the projects you've been working on.' she promised before kissing the top of his head.

Nicolas huffed in complaint but didn't say another word. Fitz shook his head and kissed Olivia's forehead. 'Have a good day at work, sunshine. We'll be here when you get home.'

* * *

While everything seemed to be having a smooth start for Olivia and Fitz in Georgetown, Tanya was at her house stressing out. What she thought was going to slip under the rug as a simple misunderstanding had turned into something much bigger. She had overheard one of the officers say something about 'child endangerment' but she was too afraid to even Google what they meant. They were now assigned a social worker who had already been by the house and apparently hadn't like what she seen. They had a date set up in family court which made Tanya jus cringe thinking about it.

Not only that she now had to think about being forced to give custody of Nicki up. Her friends had reassured her that no judge in their right mind would separate a mother and child over a simple mistake and that she was in the clear but she knew her sister better than that. Olivia had the money and resources to take her to court for Nicolas and she knew she wouldn't be able to afford to defend herself.

Before her mind could wander any further there was a knock on her front door. Hoping it would be Olivia with Nicolas she rushed through the living room to see who it was. She was more than a little disappointed when she realized it was only her friend. Tanya pushed the door open and stepped aside so that she could come in.

'Hey, girl.' her friend greeted as she plopped down on the couch and set down a bag of food she had brought from McDonalds. 'Where's Nicki? You couldn't get him back?'

'Not yet.' she shook her head and sat beside her, grateful that somebody had brought something to eat. She felt like she hadn't had anything in her stomach in days. 'I was so tired yesterday after being questioned and stuff I just let him stay the night at my sister's place.'

Jenny sucked her teeth. 'That's the problem.' she said as she bit into her burger. 'He's getting too used to staying over there. Once this whole thing is over you need to stop letting him spend so much time over there.'

Tanya didn't want to admit that the reason Nicki spent so much time with her sister was because she never felt like being tied down to actually being a mother. She liked all the fun parts like watching tv together and going out but she could go without the homework and whatever else.

'I know. I'm going to go pick him up from school today and he's going to stay with me until this stuff blows over.'

'You know what you need to do, right?' her eyebrow quirked at her.

'No.' Tanya shook her head.

'You have to tell the social worker that he's being abused when he's with her. Isn't your sister dating that baseball player now?'

'Don't remind me.' Tanya grunted as she thought about Fitz.

'Make up a story about him touching Nicki or something. You have to make it sound believable, though.' she suggested.

'Jen I don't think I'm ready to take it that far.' she retorted, the plan making her a little nervous.

Jenny simply shrugged her shoulders. 'Don't say I never gave you any advice.'

Tanya sighed and shook her head.

* * *

At 2:30 Tanya was waiting outside of Casey Elementary School to pick Nicolas up alongside the other parents. Usually Olivia was the one to come pick him up and she was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't there to get him already. She was happy that they wouldn't have to have any type of confrontation at the school today. All of the adults waited in the cafeteria while the kindergarten classes filed in and the students began running into their parent's arms.

Tanya stood up from her seat, poking her head around as she sought her son out. Her hopeful smile turned into a frown as the last kids came into the room but there was no Nicolas in sight. It wasn't until then that she caught eyes with his teacher and walked over to her.

Mrs. Farr was shocked to see Tanya there but cleared her throat in preparation to talk to her. She had already spoken to Fitz earlier that day about Nicki not coming into school and her emailing his daily work so that they could get it done from home. They also briefly spoke about having to go to court but he couldn't say much about it over the phone since Nicki was in the room. She gave her a tight lipped smile.

'Miss Pope— what a surprise.' she greeted as primly as possible.

Tanya chuckled in an attempt to brush her comment off. 'I'm not sure why you'd be surprised to see me here picking my son up from school. Do you say that to all of the parents?'

'No.' she shook her head. 'Just the ones who don't come regularly.'

Tanya took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down and to keep from snapping on the older woman. 'Where's my son?'

'Your son didn't come to school today, Miss Pope.' she said curtly, ready to end their interaction.

Her eyebrows furrowed. 'He hasn't been here all day?'

'No, he hasn't. I'm surprised you didn't know that yourself.' she commented, cocking her head to the side.

It took every ounce of strength in her body not to lunge forward at Mrs. Farr for making so many slick comments. Instead she turned on her heel and walked out of the cafeteria without even saying goodbye. She was determined to get to the bottom of this situation and figure out where her son was.

Once she made it outside of the school she picked up her phone to call Olivia, determined to curse her out for trying to sneak around with Nicolas. After not getting an answer at her office she tried her personal cellphone and was more than angry when it went straight to voicemail. Tanya figured her sister was ignoring her but was unaware that she had been showing houses all day in Maryland and that her phone had been turned off.

Feeling hurt and angry, Tanya dialed the number to the social worker assigned to their case. If he couldn't get Olivia and Fitz to listen to her then she knew they'd hear what the courts had to say. Even if she had to make up a lie in the process.

* * *

 _ **A/N: So here we have chapter 3! It's not the longest thing I've ever written but I really wanted to go ahead and publish something (also its not very edited). I know it's been a while but I've been a little caught up with graduation and visiting family and applying for jobs! In the mean time I've really been enjoying all the other content other fiction writers have been publishing and this season was amazing!**_

 _ **This chapter is just a little angsty but I promise it wont be that bad. Tanya listening to her friend's advice may get her into more trouble than what she thinks! Also I have to thank you all for your continued support of my story. This one in particular really blew up and it's been amazing to watch. I cant thank you all enough! My twitter name is lynalexandria so always feel free to tweet or message me! I love hearing from you guys! Until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

'Attention all units! This is Cadet Ranger Eleventy Trillion-Twenty Four! We've been hit with enemy fire and have crashed landed in the middle of no where. All I see is sand and dirt and we're all out of food! We need help! We need help!' the space cadet hollered into his walkie talkie but the device was beeping loudly, letting him know that the battery was nearly dead at this point. He was currently hiding behind a huge rock with venomous scorpions hissing at him.

'Hello? HELLO? Can anybody hear me? I need help! The monster is going to come get me!' he yelled louder although there was still no response.

Before he could make another move there was a loud growling sound coming from around the corner of the rock. The cadet gasped and his muscles clenched as he tried making himself smaller and holding his breath so no one could hear him. He put his palm over the beeping device in his hands hoping to silence it but it wouldn't work.

He took a deep breath and decided that he would have to just make a run for it past whatever creature was waiting for him on the other side. If he stayed put then the scorpions would probably get him before the monster did so he chose to put up a fight. He reached down into utility belt where he kept his weapons and picked up the only gun he had left. After quietly loading it up with some bullets he stood to his feet and tried to calm himself down.

Within seconds the heroic cadet was running from his place of cover and yelling as loud as he could. Once he spotted the hideous monster he nearly gagged. He had long pointy teeth, a green face, and antenna that looked like claws. He shot a few bullets at it but missed every time. Seeing that his plan wasn't working, he decided to charge at him head on.

Fitz caught Nicolas in his arms and growled loudly before picking him up and throwing the screaming boy into the air. He chuckled as he tried to squirm around but it was of no use. He hugged Nicki tightly to his chest so that he couldn't wiggle away.

'Do you give up now, Cadet Nicolas of the Planet Earth?' Fitz said in the most hideous voice that he could muster. He had had months to practice on it so it was somewhere between a growl, hiss, and cackle.

'Cadet's never give up!' he yelled in the monster's face before kicking him in the stomach as hard as he could.

Fitz howled loudly for dramatic effect and dropped Nicolas but made sure that he landed on the rock, which conveniently looked just like the couch in the living room, and fell to the ground. He clenched his stomach tightly and made noises as if he was crying as he writhed around in pain.

Nicolas rolled around the floor as he shook the imaginary scorpions off his body and gathered some of the foam bullets that he wasted earlier. After collecting a few he hid behind the couch once more and loaded then into his Nerf gun. The cadet poked his head from around the corner to make sure that the monster was still on the ground and smile triumphantly when he saw that he still seemed to be in pain.

He ran over to where Fitz was lying and cocked his gun, holding it attention just in case he stood up too fast. 'Don't move monster!' he ordered authoritatively.

'Please, Cadet! Don't hurt me! I promise I'll be a good monster from now on!' Fitz swore as he watched Nicki swagger his way closer to him.

'Do you promise to always tell the truth and be good to everybody that you see all the time always and never be mean again never?' he asked, although he seemed very wary of him.

'Yes! I promise! Will you please help me? I think I got hurt really bad when you kicked me.' he grunted, still holding his abdomen.

'Cadet Nicolas to your rescue!' he yelled before running over to where the 'monster' was.

Fitz held his hand out so that Nicki could help him up. As soon as he was about to stand he saw the gun being pointed to his forehead. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Nicolas.

'I promised to be good, Cadet Nicolas. Whats wrong?' he asked as his eyes focused back on the gun now settled at the bridge of his nose.

'Monsters never tell the truth.' he cut his eyes at Fitz before pulling the trigger. The gun went off and the suction cup on the foam bullet landed right on the monsters face in between his eyebrows.

Fitz was a bit surprised that Nicki turned on him like that but also found it hilarious. He made a few dramatic noises before falling directly on his back and laying out as if he was dead. Nicolas grinned victoriously and dropped the gun before standing up on Fitz's stomach, his small toes curling against his uncle's skin as he tried to keep his balance on the uneven surface.

'Once again the planet is saved by Cadet Nicolas of Planet Earth! There will be no more monsters eating people as long as I'm around!' he declared loudly over Fitz's 'lifeless' body.

Before their game could continue they heard the back door open. They both knew exactly who it was and that they were both in deep trouble once she saw them and the way that the house looked. Fitz's eyes popped open and he looked at Nicki with faux horror written all over his face.

'Oh no.' Nicolas whispered lowly.

'Maybe if we don't move at all she won't see us.' Fitz suggested.

'Uncle Fitz I don't think that will work because she always sees me even when I'm not moving.' he hypothesized, causing Fitz to chuckle.

'You're probably right, Cadet Nicolas. Then there's only one way to get out of this mess.' he declared as he sat up. The two of the quietly scuffled behind the couch.

'What the hell?' Olivia muttered as she made her way through the kitchen and took in its appearance. There was dirty dishes piled up in the sink and it looked as if the boys had had 10 different meals from earlier that morning. There were cookie and candy wrappers scattered everywhere and Fitz had obviously burnt something because she could smell the remnants as soon as she opened the door.

She set her purse down carefully before walking into the living room to try and find the culprits behind the mess. There were foam bullets everywhere and Olivia had to assume that Nicolas was now currently streaking through the house because his clothes were all over the place. Nicki didn't have many toys at the house but it looked like they had managed to drag every single one of them from the playroom including a battery operated jeep that he rode around in.

'Fitz!' Olivia called out. She assumed that he would be down in the bedroom because usually they would run to greet her when she made it home.

Olivia was just about to search for them when she saw Nicolas and Fitz both hop out from behind the couch with Nerf guns in their hands. Nicki was, indeed, in nothing but a pair of maroon boxers with the Superman logo printed all around and nothing else. His hair had been taken down from its braided style and now hung loosely below his shoulders and he was covered in something sticky. Fitz, on the other hand, hand on a pair of gym shorts and had apparently avoided putting on a shirt all day long. His face had been haphazardly painted green and he still had a dart poking out from his forehead.

'What is going on in here?' Olivia questioned. Neither of them spoke before they started shooting her with darts from their guns. She yelped as the bullets bounced off her body and she struggled to shield herself with her hands. 'Stop it!

Nicolas dropped his weapon and ran behind Olivia and grabbed both of her hands. He pulled them behind her back and put a pair of plastic handcuffs on them while Fitz continuously pelted her with darts.

'You are officially under the arrest of the Space Cadets of Planet Earth!' he declared triumphantly.

Olivia wanted to be annoyed but she knew how hard of a time Nicki was having so she held it in. Fitz, on the other hand, was going to feel all of her wrath once they wrapped up bedtime. She rolled her eyes but decided to play along for now.

'State your business here, trespasser!' Fitz demanded with a gun still pointing towards her.

Her eyebrows raised and she looked him and down as if he was crazy, a subtle warning for him to cool it. 'My last client for the day didn't show up so I decided to come home a little early.'

Nicolas' head cocked to the side and he broke character for a moment. 'Auntie we're playing pretend and you're a prisoner. You don't have any clients or nothing like that. You gotta come up with a reason for being here but not a regular reason.'

'Oh, wow. I didn't even realize.' she chuckled in spite of her frustration. 'I'm so sorry, Space Cadet. It wont happen again.'

He smiled widely before handing the cuffs over to Fitz. 'Take her to the jail cell Junior Cadet Uncle Fitz!'

Fitz's eyebrows raised. 'Why am I just a Junior Cadet?'

'Because I've been a Cadet longer than you. You're just my student.' Nicki explained in a very matter of fact tone. He turned on his heel and walked over to his battery powered jeep and crawled into it. He had borrowed a pair of Olivia's black shades to complete his look and he managed to balance them on his nose although they were much too big for his small face.

'Are those my Gucci shades?' she hissed at Fitz under her breath.

'No.' he shook his head although he knew that those were definitely her Gucci shades. In Nicolas' defense they did look like exact replicas of the pair his favorite character wore on tv. He was going to try and stop him but he looked so adorable with them on he couldn't take them away. Before he could get caught fraternizing with their 'prisoner', Fitz turned Olivia around and started walking her down the hallway and towards their bedroom.

'What is going on, Fitz? You, Nicolas, and the house are a complete mess.' she fussed as she sat down on the bed. There was a release button on the back of the handcuffs but she couldn't remember exactly where it was. 'It looks like a tornado ran through the kitchen and do you know how long its going to take to get that burnt grease out of those pans in the sink?'

While Olivia went on and on about the mess, Fitz got a good look at himself in the mirror. He removed the dart that was still attached to his forehead and took one of her makeup wipes off of the vanity to remove the green stuff from his face. It was frustrating her even more that he seemed to be too distracted to listen to her.

Fitz got down on his knees in front of Olivia so that they could be eye level and took her cheeks into both of his big hands and kissed her. He was sure that seeing that huge mess was going to stress her out more but he hadn't been expecting her so early. He had full intentions on having everything clean by the time she made it home. Whatever her next complaint was was long forgotten once his tongue slipped through her lips and into her mouth and she started moaning. She wanted to wrap her arms around him but her hands were still constrained behind her back with the plastic handcuffs.

'How was your day, sunshine?' Fitz asked as he brought his hands down her body and went to work at unbuttoning her blazer for her.

'Fine.' she mumbled softly as she watched his nimble fingers do their work. 'I had this couple come in today with this really annoying kid who wasted red juice all over the white carpets in the den and I had to show it to 5 other families this afternoon.' Olivia sighed as she replayed her day.

'You know you have people to do that type of stuff for you, right?' his eyebrows quirked playfully. He had been nagging her for the past month about working to delegate more and work less. 'You're the boss, Olivia. You should be sitting in your office with your feet up on your desk.'

'Well, sometimes its fun to get out their in the field and meet people.' she countered with a small smile. 'It was a good day overall. I still wasn't able to make the sale but I think I have a new strategy for it.'

'I told you this morning you're going to run yourself ragged if you don't slow down.' he cooed lowly before bringing his hands down lower on her body until he reached her ankles. Fitz carefully removed both of her high heels knowing how tired her feet are after a long day of showing houses. 'We have a lot of other things going on right now.'

'I know.' she sighed, acknowledging he was right. She purred softly when he began massaging the ball of her left foot.

'I think I know the perfect people for the house.' he commented with a coy grin. 'Us.'

Olivia was getting a little caught up in the massage but his statement brought her back to her senses again and made her chuckle. Her fingers finally found the release button on the cuffs and she pressed down it so that her wrists would be free. 'Fitz this house is way too big for us. It's 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms—'

'A huge kitchen, a living room, a den, a finished basement, a big backyard, and the school district in that area is amazing.' he finished her sentence for her. He had been doing his own independent research on the house and he had fallen in love with it himself.

Her eyebrows quirked as she massaged her wrists and put the cuffs over to the side. 'Have you been going through my files, Fitzgerald?'

'Maybe.' he simpered. 'But it's nothing wrong with thinking ahead. Of course it wouldn't be our forever home because we'd run out of space. I want all of the kids to have their own bedroom and bathrooms.'

'What!?' she cackled. 'How many kids do you think we're having?'

'Well, we've already got Nicki so that's one. I figured if we start next year then we should be able to have at least 7 more back to back and that would give us an even 8 in total.' he said with only a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He knew Olivia would probably laugh his idea off but he'd be more than happy with 7 kids or even more. Fitz was an only child and after losing both of his parents he was basically all alone in the world. He never wanted his kids to go through that.

'You've got really big plans.' Olivia snorted. 'But I think you need to rethink some of it. I don't even have a ring yet and you're already talking about knocking me up.'

Fitz grinned widely but looked down so that she couldn't see his facial expression. Even through all the craziness that had been going on during the past few days he still had his mind on the diamond he had stashed away in the safe in his office. He couldn't wait for their vacation to start so that he could finally ask her.

'You're right.' he pretended to concede as he moved to her other foot. 'We can talk more about kids later but I really think we should consider this house. It has everything we want.'

'It's so far from my job—'

'You can work from home.' he shrugged then shook his head. 'You keep trying to find problems with this house but I'm telling you that there aren't any. I did the research myself.' Fitz explained as if Olivia wasn't the expert on buying property

'Fitz we already have so much other stuff going on right now. I think it would be best if we just stay in one place until we can get this stuff with Nicki settled.' she reached down and cupped his cheeks, her palms rubbing against the bristled hairs of his growing beard. He hated having it during the summer because it sweated while he played on the field but now that it was cooler outside he decided to grow it out some to see how Olivia would like it.

'You're right,' he finally gave in, content to change the subject for now. 'Did you get a chance to speak with the officers down at the station?'

'I did.' Olivia nodded. 'I spoke with Officer Bryant and he says that Tiffany was questioned after we left the precinct and that there was now a social worker assigned to the case who did a home visit. I suppose they'll come speak with us later.'

'I talked with our lawyer today and he wants us to come in tomorrow for a meeting after Nicolas is dropped off at school. I told him 10:00 was fine.' Fitz said as he gently rotated her foot, stretching her ankles.

'I can swing that.' Olivia nodded. 'My first meeting isn't until 11 tomorrow. Did you get a chance to go over any of the school work Mrs. Farr sent or did you two just spend the whole day playing Space Invaders and messing the house up?' she asked with her eyebrows quirked.

'I'll have you know that we had only been playing Space Invaders for 20 minutes before the Evil Queen showed up to ruin the fun.' he teased.

Olivia playfully scoffed and snatched her feet away from him and scooted further up on the bed so that she'd be out of his reach. 'Oh so I'm the Evil Queen now?'

'Where are you going, sunshine?' he asked before crawling into bed after her. Olivia tried to get away but he managed to pin her under his body and he rested comfortably in between her parted legs. 'You're still my prisoner, you know?'

'I don't want to play this game anymore!' she said laughing as he tried to kiss her. Olivia turned her neck and his lips crashed against the side of her face.

Fitz grinned and took hold of her chin and attempted to turn her head so that she'd face him again. He could usually do a good job of keeping her still but today she was squirming and kicking her legs and trying to push him away. It wasn't until she was completely tired from laughing and wiggling that he was able to capture her lips with his. Olivia moaned softly as their tongues became reacquainted with one another and she felt something pressing into the crotch of her pants.

Not that she had been counting or anything, but it had been nearly three whole days since they had had sex and it was killing her. Sleeping next to Fitz every night but not actually having him had become torturous. Olivia knew that they didn't have a lot of time to just be alone but she couldn't help but grind against his erection as her own arousal grew. She grinned against his mouth when he grunted.

'You just love to torture me, don't you?' he grumbled lowly as he began kissing down her jawline.

Olivia's breath hitched at the back of her throat as she felt his open mouth headed towards the column of her neck. Despite how much she loved having all of his attention, she knew that they needed to stop. It was no where near Nicki's bedtime and they should probably go over some paperwork before their meeting with their lawyer the next day.

'Ohhh, baby.' Olivia said, breathing heavily. 'Don't do that.' she begged, her voice no more than a small whisper. 'Nicolas is going to come in here looking for us any second.'

Fitz ignored her protests and lightly suckled on her flesh, not caring if he left a mark. He knew she'd probably fuss a little bit about him being so reckless but he had been feeling extremely bold since they had announced their relationship publicly. He never thought that Olivia would cheat on him but knowing that everybody would see his dark purple love bite on her neck served as a major boost to his ego.

'I miss you.' he murmured against her flesh, letting her know he wanted it just as badly as she did.

'I miss you, too.' she said softly as one of her hands traveled up his back and to the nape of his neck, her fingers curling so that she could gently tug at his soft hair. 'Tonight.'

He nodded his head in agreement. Fitz didn't know if they'd ever get to a point where they stopped craving one another sexually but he hoped not. While their relationship was much more than just sex, it was their moments of intimacy that brought everything together. He never thought he'd have someone that he could be so vulnerable and open with until Olivia came along but he loved it.

Before he could respond they heard the door to the bedroom swing open and the sound of a whirring Jeep roll in. Nicolas had been fine playing alone for a little while but when neither of them returned he wanted to see what was going on. He assumed that they had escaped to go and kiss somewhere and he grunted when his conclusion turned out to be true.

'Uncle Fitzzzz! Aunt Olivviiiiaaa!' he groaned loudly, exasperated from looking at the situation before him.

Fitz's eyes widened then he chuckled as he realized that they had been caught. He gave her cheek one last kiss before rolling over and sitting up in bed. He could tell by the look on Nicolas' face that they were about to get a whole lecture on kissing so he prepared himself. 'Yes, Nicolas?'

'We're 'sposed to be playing pretend and you're in here kissing Auntie Olivia!' he huffed and stomped his foot and crossed his arms. 'You guys don't know how to play right! She's supposed to be in jail and you cant kiss people in jail!'

'I'm sorry.' he said as believably as possible although Nicki didn't seem too pleased with his answer. 'Thanks for telling me the rules. I'll play right.'

Nicolas sighed and rubbed his temples, a habit that he picked up from his aunt, and shook his head. 'If you want to be a Junior Cadet then you gotta follow all my rules because I'm a real Cadet and I'm the one in charge.'

'I understand.' Fitz nodded.

'Okay.' Nicolas grumbled as he picked up the handcuffs that Olivia had put to the side earlier. 'Put Auntie Olivia back in jail then let's go back to the living room so we can find some more aliens to fight.'

Olivia rolled her eyes but offered her hands over to him to handcuff again. As much as she loved Nicki she couldn't see having 8 kids in the house at one time; especially when they were keeping her from getting some. Fitz put the plastic over her wrists and shut them before pretending to put the key into his pocket. They watched Nicolas get back into his toy jeep and ride back into the living room.

'You really want 8 of those running around the house?' she asked teasingly.

'We'll get a nanny.' Fitz grunted before standing up. 'I'll sneak you in a glass of wine before dinner. Sound good?'

'Mhhmm.' she hummed appreciatively before puckering her lips for him. After a small peck, Fitz returned to the living room to continue their game while Olivia started flipping through television stations.

After another hour or so of playtime Fitz insisted that he needed to start on dinner. Olivia had escaped from her safe haven of 'prison' where she was quietly drinking wine and catching up on some television. She frowned as she looked over the kitchen and saw where the boys had made a huge mess earlier.

'How did you even manage to get the house this dirty this fast?' she asked, shooting him a look of disapproval.

Fitz's face turned a little red. He'd never admit it out loud but things did get a little out of hand around breakfast time. If she hadn't come home so early he would've had most of the mess up by now. 'It's not that bad, Liv. We just need to wash the dishes and—'

'And scrub the counters, and wipe the table and the floor is sticky. Why is the floor sticky?' Olivia grimaced as her feet stuck down to the tile.

'I'm going to clean up, Liv.' he insisted before handing her his cellphone. 'Why don't you just order us a pizza and some wings for tonight and tomorrow we'll have a home cooked meal?'

Olivia took the phone then looked him up and now. She agreed then walked to the living room to try and calm herself down. She knew it was wrong to be upset with Fitz for making a mess in his own kitchen but apart of it felt so domestic to her.

While Fitz cleaned, Olivia and Nicki sat at the dining room table and worked on the stack of papers Mrs. Farr had sent home for him. It was a lot but he was able to breeze through most of it with the exception of a few subtraction problems. He was a smart kid, nobody could deny that, he just needed someone to sit down with him and help.

Dinner consisted of pasta, garlic Parmesan wings, and a supreme pizza for the adults and cheese pizza and garlic knots for Nicolas. He was very adamant about sitting in Olivia's lap during their meal and sat with his back to her chest. Fitz managed to snap a few pictures of them while she was occupied on her cellphone and Nicki played with his meal. He still hadn't put on any clothes but as long as he was comfortable they were both content with him running around in his briefs.

Just like the night before, Olivia prepared Nicolas' bath and helped him get dressed in his pajamas. She knew how much Fitz loved having this bonding time with him but apart of her missed having Nicki all to herself. Of course he could be a handful but it always kept a smile on her face. The adjustment of going from a somewhat single mother to a family was a little tougher than she had expected but she didn't want it any other way. Nicolas needed Fitz in his life just as much as she needed both of them and she'd never tear what they shared apart.

'Auntie, I'm scared.' Nicolas muttered as he stood next to his window and watched the rain pour down from the sky. The dark clouds outside covered the moon and stars which made their street look completely dark except for the streetlights and a few other houses with the lights on.

'There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of.' Olivia assured as she pulled his covers back. She, personally, loved the rainy weather. Even as a child she was fascinated with how thunder and lighting struck and how the water droplets from the rain managed to stick to her windows.

Tiffany hated storms, though, and she almost chuckled as she realized how similar he was to his mother.

'Are you and uncle Fitz going to be okay?' he asked sincerely as he grasped onto the curtains next to his window, his tiny fingers squeezing the fabric as if it might blow away.

She giggled softly, not wanting him to think she was laughing at him. 'We're going to fine.'

'Is it 'cause you're big people so you don't get scared?'

'No.' Olivia shook her head. 'Big people still get scared. I get scared all the time.'

'Will Jenkins be scared? Can he come sleep with me tonight?' he asked, knowing he was now pushing his luck.

'Jenkins is fine where he is. If I bring him in here all you're going to do is play with him and you need to get some rest. You have school in the morning.' Olivia persuaded as she grabbed his arm and slowly started tugging him towards his bed.

Nicolas sighed. He had a feeling she'd say no but it was worth a shot. He crawled into his sheets and got under the covers, pulling them all the way up to his neck just the way he liked. It was easier to keep the monsters away if you were tucked in tight. 'Auntie can you shut my curtains? I don't wanna look at the lighting 'cause it's loud.'

Olivia laughed at his reasoning before walking back over to the curtains to shut them. There was still a bright flash of light from behind the fabric but it wasn't nearly as bad now that the glass was covered. 'The lightning is what you see and the thunder is what you hear.' she explained gently.

'Oh, okay.' he nodded as he tried to commit the fact to memory. Nicolas didn't care what it was called as long as he didn't have to see or hear it. He puckered his lips for his goodnight kiss and smiled when Olivia obliged.

'Pleasant dreams and have a good night.' she said as she smoothed down his hair.

'And don't let the bed bugs bite!' he finished with a smile before shutting his eyes. Just as Olivia was about to make it out of the door Nicki sat up straight. 'Wait!'

'What's wrong?' she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

'Can you tell me a story to help me fall asleep since it's really scary outside?'

Olivia sighed but smiled. One more story for the night wouldn't hurt and she knew she'd regret not spending time with him one day. Nicki wouldn't be this small forever and one day he probably wouldn't even want her in his bedroom so she wanted to enjoy these moments.

Before she could sit on the floor beside his bed Nicolas scooted over and patted the spot beside him. 'Lay down beside me and tell the story how we used to do it.'

She chuckled but agreed and crawled into Nicolas' tiny bed beside him. Her body was halfway hanging off but she tried her best to squeeze in as tightly as she could. Nicolas made himself comfortable next her and laid his head on her chest and snuggled against her body.

'Alright.' Olivia started with a small yawn. This was her first time laying down all day and she hadn't realized how tired she was before her head hit the pillow. She wrapped her arms around Nicolas' body and held his close to her. She knew it wouldn't take long for him to fall asleep so she really just needed to out last him. 'This is the story of the handsome Prince Nicolas and how he saved the day from the mean dragon monster.'

'Hey!' he grinned. 'That's my name!'

'Is it?' she asked coyly as she shut her eyes and tried to think of what the rest of the story would consist of. She usually made them up on the spot but her mind felt a little foggy tonight. 'I didn't know.'

'How did the Prince save the day? Did he use a magic sword?' he asked excitedly.

'Yep. Exactly.' she nodded her head before yawning again. 'He had a magic sword that he got from his good fairy godmother.'

'Was her name Auntie Olivia?' he grinned and poked her stomach.

'Mhhm.' she nodded her head again. 'And he went all the way up the mountain because he knew he had to slay the mean and nasty giant.'

'You mean dragon monster?'

'Ya. That one.' she nodded.

'What happened next?' he asked as he laid his head down once more. He waited a few moments but when he didn't get a response he looked up at her. Olivia's eyes were shut and she was starting to lightly snore.

Nicolas frowned. He really wanted to hear the end of the story but now she was asleep. He tried shaking her and poking her but she barely even moved. After a few minutes of trying to wake up his sleeping aunt he finally gave up. He took some of the covers on his bed and pushed them up on her body so that she could stay warm. Usually he enjoyed sleeping by himself because it made him feel older but he was glad that Olivia was there tonight during the storm.

After kissing her cheek he laid down beside her and shut his eyes tightly. They'd just have to finish the story later.

Fitz had been sitting in bed waiting on her to return. He knew how much she loved watching the storm so he had opened the curtains and poured them both up another glass of wine. They had a stack of papers they could glance over tonight but he had put it all away for now. In his mind they deserved one more stress free night before the real work started. There was a small stereo sitting on one of his dressers and he had put on a sexy station he had found on Pandora and put it on low.

There wasn't enough time to light any candles or throw down any rose petals but he dimmed the lights a bit and rubbed a little oil on his chest, hoping to completely set the mood. When he heard Nicolas' door shut Fitz immediately stripped down to just his boxer briefs and jumped on the bed and laid on his side, supporting his head with his hand. Olivia liked to keep fresh flowers around so he had grabbed a tulip out of one of the vases in the kitchen and put it between his teeth.

He waited in that position for almost 10 minutes before realizing that she wasn't coming directly to the bedroom. Fitz sighed and stood up from the bed and put his pants back on. He assumed he'd find her making a phone call or in the kitchen looking for a midnight snack so he tried to the living room first. He searched all around the house before checking Nicolas' room.

Fitz slowly opened the bedroom and poked his head in to see if she was in there. He was surprised to see that she had found a way to crawl into Nicolas' bed and seemed to fast asleep. He tiptoed over to where they were laying down and tried to lightly shake her. She seemed to be out cold but he knew she'd be more comfortable in the California King sized bed that they had in the master bedroom.

When Olivia brushed his hand away he decided to just let her sleep there. He could only sigh and shake his head as he grabbed another blanket so that her entire body would be covered. He had been trying to tell her to stop pushing herself so hard and this was obviously the result of a long day at work and the added stress of their pending custody battle.

'Uncle Fitz.' Nicolas whispered to grab his attention.

Fitz cringed at the sound of his voice. He had assumed that they were both asleep but Nicki's big, hazel eyes staring back at him let him know he was wrong. 'Hey, buddy. What are you still doing up?'

'I'm not tired yet.' he said defensively. 'How come you came in my room?'

'I was looking for Auntie Olivia and I guessed that she was in here.'

'Ya.' he smiled brightly. 'She fell asleep in my bed while telling me a story about Prince Nicolas.'

Fitz chuckled. 'Get some rest, buddy.'

'Wait.' he held his hand up. 'You can sleep in here with us, too, Uncle Fitz. We can all sleep in my bed.'

His nose scrunched up as he looked over Olivia's body. She already had a tiny frame and even she seemed to be squished in there pretty tight. 'I don't think I'll fit.'

'Ya you can.' he insisted. He scooted closer to Olivia which left a small space for him to get in. 'Please? Just tonight.' Nicki assured him.

He sighed but nodded his head, silently wondering when he started to let a 5 year old dictate his life. Fitz crawled over them and tried to make himself comfortable but it was nearly impossible. He was sure that he would have a crook in his neck and that his back would be killing him but he knew he had to endure it for a little while.

As much as Fitz wanted to be annoyed he just couldn't bring himself to that point. All this time all he ever wanted was a family and here they were right before his eyes. He smiled and kissed the back of Nicki's head and wrapped his arm around their bodies as he started to embrace his normal.

His _new_ normal.

* * *

After taking Nicolas to school the next day Olivia and Fitz had to pay a visit to their new lawyers office. It was a small but powerful firm nestled in the heart of Capital Hill and they almost exclusively handled big name cases. A custody case alone wouldn't have caught their attention but as soon as they put the name 'Tommy' they were all over it.

'I told you you needed to slow down.' Fitz said from the driver's seat of his sports car. He knew the last thing she wanted was a lecture but he felt it was necessary.

Olivia rolled her eyes. 'I can rest once all this is over, Fitz. Everything needs to be perfect.'

'And I understand that.' he nodded. 'But you don't have to make it perfect by yourself. You have help.'

'I know that.' she nodded. 'But I can't just stop working because—'

'I never asked you to stop working.' he interrupted. 'Just slow it down.'

'You just don't understand.' she sighed.

'Excuse me?' his eyebrows raised. 'What don't I understand?'

'Obviously you don't understand the way I feel if we're even having this discussion.' she said firmly but avoided raising her voice.

'Just forget it, Olivia. I'm trying to have a simple conversation with you and you're pushing me back.' he scolded, causing her to scoff. 'I'm not the enemy here, Liv. I'm on your side.'

'Well then act like it!' she hissed then sat back in her seat and looked away.

Olivia immediately felt bad for lashing out at Fitz but her pride was way too big to even consider apologizing right now. Obviously he was only trying to help her but she wasn't in the mood to hear any 'I told you so's.

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet excluding the sounds of the traffic outside and Nicki's Kidz Bop CD in the CD Player. They pulled into the private garage used for the clients of the firm and Fitz parked in the spot closest to the door. Much to Olivia's surprise he still got out of the car and opened the car door for her and helped her slip into her jacket just as he always did. He didn't look very happy about it but she was still appreciative.

Fitz locked the car door and walked right beside her before reaching out to open the door. Before she walked through Olivia took hold of his free hand and laid a small kiss on his cheek.

'I'm sorry for yelling at you.' she said softly.

His face immediately softened as her lips pressed against his skin. 'It's okay. I just want us to work together. As a team.'

'We are a team.' she nodded her head in confirmation. 'And you were right. I'm taking on too much right now. I should just focus on one thing.'

'There we go, sunshine.' he smiled and kissed her forehead. 'Now, let's go win a case.'

Olivia smiled and walked through the door. Fitz discretely reached forward and smacked her behind as she passed him causing her to make a squeezing sound. He looked away coyly as if he hadn't done anything at all but the huge smile on his face gave him away.

'Let's go, pervert.' she chuckled.

'How could I help myself when I've got so much to look at?' he grinned as he followed behind her.

The lawyers office was up at the top floor so they rode the elevator up together. Fitz stayed close enough to feel her up until they got to the 22nd floor and he immediately stopped. There was no way in the world she wouldn't want to pounce on him as soon as they left the office.

The receptionist was a young lady who seemed to be around the age of 26. She immediately stood to her feet when they walked through the office doors and grabbed her notebook and pen. The front area of the office was very modernly designed with white carpets, plush chairs, and an open view of the city from the windows.

Olivia took a step forward and offered the woman her hand. 'My name is Olivia Pope and we're here to see—'

'I know who you are.' she brushed off. 'Daniel has been expecting you and is in his office waiting.'

Fitz raised his eyebrows at the woman's forwardness and Olivia awkwardly took her hand back. While she didn't appreciate that her greeting was put off so easily she did like the fact that they seemed to get right down to business. They followed her down the hall until they reached the office where Daniel Madison was.

Madison had gotten his claim to fame years ago while working as a paralegal on high level cases like the OJ Simpson trial. After his career took off he was known as one of the best in the business and he was extremely hard to get a hold of.

He was sitting in his seat when Olivia and Fitz walked in wearing a huge smile on his face. 'Come in, come in. Please have a seat.'

Fitz moved forward to pull Olivia's seat out for her then sat in the one next to her's. 'Mr. Madison it's very nice meeting you.'

'The pleasure is all mine.' he waved off. 'I have the richest real estate agent in the DMV area and the current most popular player in the MLB sitting right beside me. It seems as if I'm having the good day here.'

Olivia half chuckled at his comment but really wanted to press forward. 'Have you gotten a chance to look over our case?'

'I have.' he nodded. 'And might I add, Miss Pope, you look very lovely in person. The pictures I've seen do you no justice at all. Absolutely gorgeous.'

Fitz couldn't help the scowl that came over his face as he heard Daniel begin to shower Olivia with compliments and he tried his best not to open his mouth because he knew he'd have something mean to say. They needed his help right now so he'd kick his ass later. Olivia didn't seem very moved by his flattery, though, so he tried to push it out of his mind.

'I haven't been able to get this picture out of my brain since it was taken. I was there, ya know? Sitting in the crowd.' he said as he slid over the most recent copy of a sports magazine with them as the cover with Nicki. It was clearly the photo taken a few days ago at the stadium but they both seem surprised to see it printed out.

'So I'm to assume that this one here is little Nicolas?' he asked, gesturing down to Nicki.

'That's him.' Fitz nodded his head.

'He seems like a happy enough kid. Why take him from his mother?' he asked.

Daniel was obviously testing the waters but had no idea that there was a hungry shark ready to snap. Fitz didn't like the way that their encounter had been going so far and was just about to open his mouth to say something when Olivia gently touched his thigh to stop him.

'My sister has proven herself time and time again to not be a very good role model for Nicolas. She constantly forgets about him and doesn't put the time and effort in to ensure his success. They're threatening to hold him back a grade because he's not getting the help he needs at home—'

'Miss Pope this sounds like an amazing sob story.' he interrupted. 'But the court isn't going to take Nicolas away from his mother just because she doesn't sit down with him and help him with his homework every night. Nobody's a perfect parent.' Daniel countered.

Fitz had heard quiet enough at this point. Olivia was obviously in the middle of her explanation and he wouldn't even let her finish. He stood to his feet and scowled at the man. 'We don't have to take this. We can find another lawyer who will actually listen with some compassion.'

'Mr. Grant, please have a seat.' Daniel said as he gestured back down to the chair.

'Absolutely not.' he shook his head. 'I'm not going to allow you all to simply brush off her concerns because you don't feel like listening. I don't even understand why you took the case if weren't even going to try.'

Daniel sighed and sat back in his seat. 'I'm trying to get all of the facts from both of you. When this case starts and you two are put on trial this is exactly the way that the other lawyers will question you. Do you think you'll be able to just get up and walk away then?'

Fitz scoffed at his insane methods then crossed his arms, still refusing to sit down. Instead, he walked over to the window cill and glanced out of it.

'Okay.' Daniel rubbed his temples. 'Let's just move on to something else. Miss Pope, what is your relationship to Nicolas Pope.'

'I'm his aunt.' she stated. 'His mother is my sister.'

'And Mr. Grant, what is your relationship to Nicolas Grant?'

'We don't have a biological connection.' he shook his head.

'Ah, I see.' he nodded. 'Where does Nicolas primarily stay?'

'With my sister in their apartment or with me.' Olivia answered.

'Do you two stay together?' he asked, looking between the two of them.

'We don't share an address but we do spend a lot of time at each other's houses.' Fitz said as he pushed his hands into his pockets.

'Mhhmm.' he hummed. 'Does Nicolas stay over at your house often or how does that work?'

'He has his own room at my house when he comes over.'

Olivia chimed in to finish his thought. He really enjoys spending time with his Uncle Fitz. We go over maybe 3 times a month.'

'Well, I'd like to suggest putting a temporary hault on these sleepovers for the next few weeks.' Daniel said. He went on to explain further when he saw both of their faces scrunch up. 'Mr. Grant, you are a grown man who is unrelated to this child. While, legally, theres nothing wrong with what you all are doing, the jury may see it differently. Miss Pope you may come off as, for lack of a better term, 'loose' when they see that you are basically staying with a man while you are not married.'

'Are you serious?' Fitz asked with his eyebrows raised.

'I've seen it happen before.' Daniel nodded his head. 'We want to make it seem as if Nicolas will be going into the most stable home environment imaginable. The judge may also look at the case more favorably if he was entering a two parent home. Have you ever thought about marriage.

'We've talked about it before.' Olivia's head cocked to the side. 'What are you suggesting here?'

'I'm suggesting that you get married before the trial begins. I know it'll be a little rushed but it's possible.' he shrugged his shoulders as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

'Yes.' Fitz nodded his head excitedly.

'No.' Olivia shook her head and grimaced at the same time.

Daniel looked between them and took a sharp breath. He could tell he just ignited a feud between them but he didn't want to be around when they exploded on each other. He could see the tension building between the two of them as they turned to face one another.

Fitz though that this was a great opportunity for them. He had been preparing his proposal for months and even though he wouldn't be able to perform it on their vacation it wouldn't matter to him because he'd still have Olivia on his side. They could move forward with getting their house together and after the case was over they could start on baby number one. The plan seemed perfect to him.

Olivia, on the other hand, hated the idea. She and Fitz had been together for months and while they had talked about marriage before they never set a solid timeline. She wanted everything to go perfectly and a rushed wedding didn't seem like anything she wanted to be apart of. The other problem was that she didn't want them to feel forced to do anything for the trial. She wanted them to get married because they wanted to, not because some lawyer thought it was a good idea.

 _So much for being a team._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Anybody still out there?_**

 ** _HELLO! Long time no hear from I know. First and foremost I'd like to say that I've been receiving ALL of your messages and reviews about how long I've been away. I'm going to apologize now and get that out of the way. I think I've mentioned before that I just received my bachelors degree (longest 4 years of my life) and I'm now out of school. I've just really been in a creative rut lately but I hope that I wont be experiencing it for much longer. I'm in a stage in my life where I'm looking for a job, trying to move, and trying to help my family at the same time and it can really suck your energy from you if you're not careful. I know how frustrating it is to not get updates (I wont name any names, though), but I'm trying!_**

 ** _I know your next question is where is Knights Ferry and the Gray Area and I'm happy to say that they're both almost finished. Hopefully they'll both be on the way soon! But I thank you all for reading and sticking with me and following me on Twitter staying connected. Until next time!_**

 ** _Also, I didn't edit this chapter._**


	5. Chapter 5

**NSFW**

* * *

The car ride back to Fitz's house was eerily quiet. There was no holding hands, no stealing glances, no occasional teasing at all. Only the sound of the classical music playing on the radio and the wheels of the car slugging against the thin layer of snow on the streets. The weather had been a bit unpredictable for the past week or so but it seemed like winter was finally coming into full swing.

Olivia looked out of her window and kept her hands in her lap. She didn't even want to pick up her phone or check her emails. At this point she knew any movement would just remind Fitz that she was there and she knew he had a lot to say.

It wasn't that she was afraid of him, she definitely wasn't, but she wasn't prepared for a fight right now. Olivia hadn't even had time to get all of her thoughts together but she knew this was going to be a big one. There wasn't going to be a let's kiss and make up solution to this. No, this fight was going to be loud and messy. They had never had one of those before but she could tell by the look on Fitz's face that he wasn't going to back down without having some words.

If he was looking for a fight, though, then he had certainly found one.

There was no way in the world Olivia was going to let their lawyer dictate when they jumped and how high they should go. Marriage was a big deal. A huge deal, actually, and the thought of some arranged sham disgusted her. It almost reminded her of what Edison proposed she do on their first date. She wouldn't say that to Fitz, though. She felt like they had enough to get Nicolas even without a marriage license.

Before they could pull up to the house, Olivia's phone went off in her back pocket. It was only a text so it didn't ring long but she could kind of hear Fitz scoff in the background. She simply rolled her eyes but decided to ignore him.

When her phone continued to ring she decided to check and see who was calling. Her eyebrows quirked when she realized it was Tanya but she didn't want to answer it right then. She was already aggravated and she knew whatever her sister had to say would only make it worse. Olivia denied her phone call and her put her device away but Tanya only called right back.

'Are you not going to answer that?' Fitz finally asked, also growing annoyed with the incessant ringing.

'Fitz, I'll answer my phone when I'm damned ready to.' she bit back at him. Olivia knew she didn't have to be that harsh but she couldn't help it.

Fitz shot her a look from the corner of his eye but didn't make a comment. If Olivia wanted to be immature about what was going on then so could he. When they made it back to his place, he parked the car in the garage and, much to her surprise, he walked over to her side of the vehicle and opened her door for her. Obviously he didn't have to do it, but it almost made her smile a little knowing that no matter how upset he got, he still cared.

When they walked inside of the house Fitz went straight into the bedroom to get rid of his coat and boots and assumed Olivia was doing the same in another room. He also wasn't very prepared to argue with her but he knew it was coming. They'd both try to keep their calm, though. Nobody was going to come out a winner if they left with both of their feelings hurt.

Fitz jogged down the stairs and took a deep breath. He was a little surprised not to find her in the living room sitting down so he moved on to the kitchen. She still had on her coat and boots and was packing up some grapes in a tupperware container.

'What are you doing?' his eyebrows cocked as he folded his arms and leaned against the frame of the door.

'I'm packing myself a snack.' she answered plainly and shut the top and slid it in her purse.

'Where are you going?'

'To work.' Olivia responded flatly, finally looking at him.

His eyebrows raised and he looked at her as if she had grown to heads. 'You're going to work? Right now?'

'Yes, Fitz. Like, right now.' she kept herself from rolling her eyes as she started to walk to the living room to retrieve her keys.

'You don't think you should stay home today? I think we have a lot to talk about, Olivia.' Fitz followed behind her but it wasn't helping much that all he could see was the back of her head.

'Obviously we have a lot to talk about, Fitz, but I still have a job to do. I still have meetings I need to be in, and I still have clients who have booked appointments with me.' Olivia's arms crossed, her tone harsh. 'The world isn't just going to stop because we need to talk.'

'Here we go again with you having to work all the damn time.' he threw his hands in the air, frustrated.

'Excuse me?' her eyebrow cocked.

'I don't understand why we need to keep having this conversation.' Fitz shook his head. 'The business isn't going to burn down if you stay at home for one day, Olivia! You need to get your priorities in check!'

Olivia scoffed. 'My priorities are in check, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to guilt me about going to work! I had a career way before I met you Fitz, and this is how I handled my business!'

'Don't try and make it seem like I'm just some pig of a boyfriend who doesn't want you to work or ever leave the house!'

'You sure act like it!' she yelled. 'Every time I come home from work you start asking me about when am I going to take time off and why don't I delegate tasks. I don't ask you to stop going to work!'

'I play baseball for a living! How am I—'

'Oh, so now your job is more important than mine?' she snaked her neck, awaiting his answer.

Fitz knew he needed to tread lightly now so he thought for a moment. 'Obviously I'm not saying that, but how can I delegate tasks when I'm on a team that needs me?'

'And my team needs me!' she retorted.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. They weren't going to get anywhere just going back and fourth like this and they both knew it. 'All I'm saying is that it's times like this that you need to try and put things on hold until we can figure out things at home. Missing one day of work wont kill you.'

'I have obligations, Fitz.' she looked away. 'I can't just drop everything because something goes a little sour. We can talk once I get home from work.'

'Whatever, Olivia.' he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away as well. 'Since you want to just do everything by yourself then I guess you can go pick Nicki up as well.'

Olivia was just about to walk out of the door but she stopped in her tracks. She turned back to him and raised her eyebrows. 'Are you serious right now? Can you even hear yourself talking?'

'I'm very serious.' he crossed his arms. 'Since you act like you don't need me around, then you can just do everything yourself.'

'Fitz, that's not fair and you know it.' she said, standing her ground. 'And let me tell you something, mister. You don't get to just decide one day that you want to just not be involved anymore with Nicolas. That is a child and, regardless of what we have going on, you have made him promises! You have an obligation to him!'

When Fitz didn't respond she took a couple of steps closer to him, her eyes cutting in his direction in a way that kind of intimidated him. 'You chose to be in this with me. You said that we were going to be a team. You can't just up and leave when things get tough. Nicolas doesn't need another playmate or friend. We're the closest thing that he has to parents, and you're either going to be all the way in or all the way out!'

Olivia looked him up and down and waited for his response but she could already see the gears turning in his head. He knew that she was right but he wasn't prepared to say it out loud. She turned on her heels and headed out of the door. Work would help her clear her mind a bit. At least until she got back home.

Round One was over and everybody had settled in their separate corners for a much needed break.

* * *

By the time Olivia had made it to the office, which didn't take long, Tanya had called her 15 more times. She considered that maybe it was some type of emergency but she knew that Nicolas was safe at school and that her sister would eventually call her parents if anything too crazy had happened. She had full intentions on calling her back but she had so much to do at the office.

She had a new client coming in today, and while she had promised Fitz that she would try and not work so hard, she couldn't give this one up. Olivia had been working tirelessly to buy this new piece of property right by the Waterfront and it looked as if she was almost ready to seal the deal. Once she had it she could guaranty a profit of well over a million dollars.

Her meeting that morning was with the city developer who was currently sitting in her office and listening to her plan. It was plenty of other people trying to buy this same piece of land and it had the potential to go up for auction but Olivia's advantage was that Henry had always had a soft spot for her and he owed her a favor.

'I've attached my proposal at the back of the handbook I gave you, and I'm ready to sign the paperwork today.' Olivia said as she finished off her presentation and leaned back in her chair, gripping the ends of the arms. She usually wasn't this nervous but she had high hopes for this project.

'You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Pope.' Henry chortled as he flipped to the back of the packet he had been given. 'I think you're trying to get me into trouble.'

'I would never.' she chuckled. 'No trouble around here. Just a very lucrative business deal that I think can help us both out.'

'Well, I think I need a couple of hours to decide.' he shrugged although he had already made his decision. When Olivia called and initially inquired about the land he knew he was going to give it up. 'How about I take you to lunch so I can rest my brain a bit?' he suggested with a smile.

Olivia smirked at his proposal. 'Henry I'm flattered, but you know I can't do that. I'm in a _very_ committed relationship.' she explained for the 10th time although she was still upset enough to punch Fitz in the stomach after their argument this morning.

'I don't see a ring on your finger.' he gestured to her barehand and grinned. 'He must not be that committed to you if he's not trying to marry you.'

'Oh, he's very committed and he would be very angry if he knew that you were trying to have this conversation with me right now.' Olivia smirked.

'I never imagined that you'd finally settle down with a baseball player, Olivia.' he sat back in his seat. 'You just don't seem like the type to fall for the jock.'

'Henry,' she said pointedly. 'this discussion was not supposed to be about my personal life and I believe that you're stalling.'

'I may be stalling a bit.' he admitted and clasped his hands together. 'I only get to hear from you when you want something and I haven't seen you in months. Maybe I'm just prolonging our time together.'

Olivia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes and gagging at Henry. There wasn't anything wrong with him in particular. He was young, handsome, and had crawled his way up the corporate ladder fairly quickly, but, he definitely wasn't her type. They had been on one small lunch date together about a year ago and he said that he didn't want children, and that was an immediate turn off since she was still looking to get custody of Nicolas.

Before Olivia could get another word out, the door to her office burst open although it was supposed to be locked to ensure nobody disturbed her meeting. Henry whipped his head around at the noise and raised his eyebrows when he saw Olivia's assistant come through the door. She was a young college student with freckles all over her face and bright red hair. She was a really sweet girl which is why Olivia didn't think she'd make it far in the business, but she liked the fact that she looked a bit like Abbey.

'Miss Pope, I'm so sorry. I really tried to stop her but—'

Tanya pushed past Olivia's assistant and got in front of her, interrupting her sentence. 'Olivia. I need to talk to you like right now.'

Olivia used her pointer finger and thumb to squeeze the bridge of her nose and try and release some of the building tension in her body. This was the last thing that she needed to happen and yet here she was amongst all this chaos. She had an angry boyfriend at home, her nephew was falling behind at school, they were about to start a custody battle, there was a man in her office flirting with her, her assistant was in a frenzy, and now her little sister was popping up.

It seemed like nothing in her life was going right.

'Have I overstayed my welcome?' Henry asked with his eyebrows raised.

'No, no.' Olivia shook her head. 'I'm so sorry. This is my little sister, Tanya. I usually have an open door policy for my family but I guess she just caught us at a bad time.' she chuckled humorlessly as she tried to make the situation feel a little less awkward and tense.

'Well, I can just come back tomorrow and we can finish discussing our project.' he suggested although he was just trying to leave now. He didn't want to get caught up between whatever was going on with them right then.

'Nonsense.' she waved that idea off. She didn't want to have to see Henry for a long time after today. 'Tanya can you please give us 10 more minutes and then we can talk.' Olivia suggested but shot her sister a look letting her know she didn't have another choice.

'Okay.' Tanya sighed and looked away before backing out of the office to wait in the receptionist area. After her assistant apologized profusely then she shut the door and left as well.

'I am so sorry for the intrusion, Henry.' Olivia said, turning her attention back to him and hoping to round the meeting up.

'No problem.' he shook his head. 'Quick question, though. Is your sister single?'

She nearly snorted. People had always told her that Tanya was almost a carbon copy of her so it made sense that Henry liked her. 'She's a bit too young for you, I'm afraid.' Olivia said. No matter how upset she was with her sister she wouldn't just sell her away to somebody like Henry.

'That's a shame.' he stood to his feet and grabbed his briefcase and packet. 'It looks like I'm going to lose my opportunity to finally marry into the Pope family.'

'Looks that way.' she shrugged, not wanting to give him any false hope.

'I'll send your assistant the paperwork in an hour for you to sign, Miss Pope. I hope I don't have to wait as long to hear from you again.' he held his hand out for her to shake. 'And maybe next time we meet it wont have to be so formal.'

Olivia's nose crinkled but she shook his hand. 'I doubt it but I'll continue to let you dream.'

Henry chuckled and clutched his heart. 'Harsh, Liv. Very harsh.' he said before walking out of the door.

Olivia gave him a sweet smile but it faded away as soon as he left out. Her bigger concern was her sister although she didn't feel like dealing with it. She reached down in her bottom drawer and grabbed one of the bottles of wine that she kept stashed away in cases of emergency. She popped the top open and took a few big gulps straight from the bottle before pressing the button on her phone that connected her with her assistant.

'Please send my sister back.' she instructed, her voice a bit smoother now that she's had a drink.

'Yes, ma'am.' she responded.

Tanya came back in the room moments later. It was cold that day so she was bundled up in her coat and hat with a scarf tied tightly around her neck. Olivia had to assume it was all a gift from an ex-boyfriend but she decided not to question it right then. She had large bags under her eyes and it looked like she hadn't slept a bit so Liv was a little worried.

As much as she wanted to kill Tanya, and she usually did, she was still her little sister and she cared deeply for her. It was never her goal separate her from her son but they also needed to do what was best for Nicolas in the long run.

Unbeknownst to Olivia, Tanya had had a lot on her mind for the past few days. She had been extremely hesitant to call the social worker and lie about Fitz's relationship with Nicki but she was at her wits end. She felt like she was losing her child and that hurt her so much it physically made her body ache.

She immediately felt guilty about her deception but didn't know how to take what she said back. Her friends had all tried to convince her to keep the charade up but her conscious was eating away at her. The only person Tanya knew to call on at that point was Olivia but she hadn't been answering her phone all morning. She knew she needed help before the entire thing blew out of proportion.

'Tanya,' she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. 'what are you doing here? In my office? Bursting past my assistant?'

'I've been calling you all morning! Where have you been?' she asked, exasperated.

'Some of us work for a living, Tanya.' her eyes rolled. 'I had a meeting earlier this morning and you just interrupted a very important—'

'Liv I need to talk to you.' she interrupted and sat down in the seat across from her desk that was previously occupied by Henry.

Olivia sighed. 'What is it?'

'I did something bad, Liv.' Tanya bit down on her bottom lip, a nervous habit that she had been carrying for a while. 'I think I screwed this thing up really bad.'

Her eyebrows raised as she immediately thought the worst. Olivia mumbled lowly to ensure that only Tanya could hear her. 'Tanya, where's the body? What'd you do with it?'

'What?' her nose crinkled and she shook her head. 'I didn't kill anybody, Olivia.'

She sighed with relief. 'Okay. I think we can handle anything else. What's wrong?'

'The social worker came to look at my apartment after I left the police station the other day and I kind of told her a lie.' she said, playing with her fingers in her lap.

'What'd you tell her?' Olivia raised her eyebrows.

'I um..' she hesitated as her heart began to beat harder in her chest. 'I told her that I think that Fitz has been touching Nicki.'

Olivia's eyebrows furrowed as she began to process what Tanya had said. She immediately leaned forward in her seat. 'You did what!?'

'I'm sorry!' she yelled back although she felt a lot better after getting it off of her chest. 'I just got like super nervous and—'

She held her hand up to stop Tanya's rambling. 'Slow down. When did you tell her this?'

'Two days ago. I went to pick Nicolas up from school and he wasn't there and Ms. Farr told me you guys had picked him up and I just got really upset.' she confessed.

'You were mad because we picked him up for school? Just like we've been doing while you were gone?' she asked back to her, wanting her to understand how crazy she sounded.

'But I'm back now!' You guys are trying to take Nicolas away from me and that's not right, either!'

'Tanya,' Olivia sighed, tired of yelling. 'Nobody is trying to take Nicki away from you. We all just want the best for him and our family.'

'And you think having Fitz around is what's best for our family?' she crossed her arms. 'He's the reason all of this is happening!'

'Excuse me?'

'None of this was going on until after you met Fitz. It's always just been me and you and Nicolas.' she looked away. 'Now you're trying to separate us.'

Olivia had to choose her next words carefully. Tanya's assessment was a bit spot on but she didn't want to say that. She had always thought about pursuing custody but Fitz really gave her the confidence to start putting her plan into motion. 'Tanya, that isn't true. This has nothing to do with Fitz whatsoever. This is about me wanting the best for Nicki. Have you even seen his grades? He's going to fail kindergarten unless he can catch up. He needs help.'

'I didn't even tell me he was doing bad.' she huffed. Tanya honestly had no idea Nicolas got homework to do at night and he never mentioned it when he got home with her. She never even thought to check his folder. 'You think I want him to flunk?'

'I don't think that.' Olivia shook her head. 'But I do think that we need to do all we can to get him back on the right track. Let me help him, Tanya. I have the resources to get him everything he needs and you know I'll take good care of him. I love him.' she said pleadingly.

'I love him too, Olivia.' she said, wiping a stray tear from her eye. Tanya was slowly but surely coming to the realization that Nicolas would probably be better off with Olivia for now but it didn't mean she liked it.

'Well, then let's do what's best for him. He's smart and funny and talented, but, he's not going to make it far like this. He needs something stable.' Olivia had to keep herself from smiling a little. She knew that Tanya would eventually come around but she had to be dramatic about it first.

'I can be something stable for Nicki. I want to.' she suggested. 'I don't want you to replace me as his mom.'

'I could never replace you.' she said sympathetically. 'You're going to always be his mother but you have to also do what's best for him. You can be provide something solid for him; just not right now.'

'What should I do, Olivia?' she asked, wiping another tear from her eye.

Olivia thought about going around and hugging Tanya but refrained for now. She needed to seal the deal before she changed her mind. For years whenever she get into trouble Tanya would run right to her big sister to help solve all of her problems. Even when they were kids Olivia was always the one who would slay her giants for her.

 _But_ , they weren't kids anymore.

'You should go ahead and sign complete custody of Nicolas to me.' she started hesitantly, gauging her reaction. 'Let me take care of him. Then you should call mom and dad and tell them that you want to come back home and—'

'Liv I can't do that.' she shook her head immediately, wanting to throw that entire idea out of the window.

'Tanya, you're 19.' she spoke calmly. 'You have your entire life to go out and enjoy what all the work has to offer. Go back home with mom and dad and get your degree in something. I know for a fact that they'd be willing to help you.'

Tanya bit her lip. She hadn't spoken to their parents in a while and they weren't exactly on the best of terms when she left home in the first place. As soon as she finished high school she found it completely unnecessary to still be following their house rules so she grabbed all of their things and left in the middle of the night with Nicki and the boyfriend that she had at the time. Olivia refused to give her any money or assistance at first but when she found out she had Nicolas with her then she complied.

'Olivia you don't know what it's like living with them.' she complained, feeling a bit desperate. 'They're so strict. All they do is yell and treat me like I'm a child and—'

'That's because you act like a child, Tanya.' she said pointedly. 'Because you act like a child, you get treated like a child. I'll admit that it's partially my fault that you act this way. After you had Nicki so young we all pacified you but that's over now. It's time for you to grow the hell up and take some responsibility for your actions.'

Tanya was quiet for a moment but then sighed. 'Alright.'

'The other thing that you're going to do is call the social worker back and tell her that you were lying about Fitz and that it was all a misunderstanding. You are going to make this go away before this gets back to him. I am not going to allow you to hurt him because you have an issue with me.' Olivia scolded. 'Understood?'

'I understand.' she nodded and looked away from Olivia's somewhat menacing gaze.

'You also need to stop relying on all of these boyfriends to take care of you.' she added. 'You're old enough to have a job and be able to support yourself. Nicolas needs somebody that he can look up and aspire to be; not rotating boyfriends every other week.'

'But, Tanya,' she cut her eyes at her sister. 'if you don't do all of this by the end of the day then I am going to have to call my lawyer and tell him that we are prepared to sue you for defamation of character. False molestation claims are a serious offense and they will throw you in jail. If you end up behind bars then you will be forced to give up your parental rights and it's going to be a long time before you're even able to see your son, let alone care for him. You've already come into my office and made a full confession of your crimes so there's no need to back pedal now. I suggest you handle your business on your own terms and not wait for the law to handle it for you.'

Olivia could tell Tanya was a bit surprised at the tone she had taken with her but she didn't care. She needed some tough love and it seemed like she was the only person who could give it to her right then. The last thing she wanted to do was have to contact their lawyer about Tanya's claims but she knew it would be necessary if the rumor spread any further. It could damage Fitz's career and all that he had worked so hard for.

She leaned towards her right so that she could reach her office phone and she dialed a number and put it on speaker. Olivia sat back in her seat as they both listened to it ring a few times and she smiled when she finally heard a voice.

'Hi, mama.' Olivia said sweetly to Maya.

'Hi, sweetheart.' she answered back. Both of the girls could practically hear the grin their mother was wearing. 'It's the middle of the day, Liv. Why aren't you at work?'

'I am.' she smirked. 'I just needed to call and talk to you.'

'About what?' Maya sat down in her seat at the kitchen island. 'This sounds pretty serious. Is Nicolas okay? Have you heard from your sister?'

Tanya's raised her eyebrows. She was surprised that Maya had even asked about her. For years she thought her mom just didn't like her.

'They're both fine, mama.' Olivia assured. 'But, Tanya wants to come home. I told her that I think she should go back to school and I think that she's willing to give it a shot.'

'Really?' Maya smiled. 'After all this time? What made her change her mind?'

'I'm not sure,' Olivia lied, now smiling even wider. She had always been the sneakier sibling. 'but I think she's serious about it.'

'Well, what about Nicolas? Is he going to come, too?' Maya asked hopefully, ready to be with her grandson again.

'No.' Olivia shook her head. 'He's going to stay here with me so he won't have to transfer schools. Besides, I know you and daddy don't want to have to keep up with a little kid all the time.'

Maya was about to start pouting but Olivia did make a very good point. She and Eli hadn't had to raise any children in a very long time so going back to that would be a big adjustment. Her back hurt just thinking about chasing after Nicki again. 'I suppose.' she conceded. 'Why didn't Tanya just call us herself?'

'I'm not sure but I know that she'll be happy to hear this.' Olivia grabbed her planner and pen and opened it up, jotting down a couple of notes. 'Why don't we drive down there at the beginning of the month with her stuff and we can all go to dinner? It'll be just like old times and I can help Tanya get enrolled into classes while I'm there.'

'Wonderful.' Maya agreed. 'I can get your rooms ready and I'll have your father make the reservations. Will you be bringing along Mr. Tommy?' she wiggled her eyebrows as if Olivia could see.

Olivia chortled. 'I'll bring him some other time, mama. I promise.'

'Fine.' she sighed dramatically. 'Just know that you're absolutely killing me.'

'You'll be fine.' she smirked and shook her head at her mother's antics. After they said their goodbyes Olivia hung the phone up and turned her attention back to Tanya.

'Now, I've done the hard part for you. It's time for you to make a decision.' she urged although she already knew the answer. 'Either I call the lawyer or you can take what you said back. I love you, Tanya, but I'm going to have to bring you down if you insist on keeping this up.'

Tanya rubbed her temples as she tried to process what all was going on but her decision was already made. Not only did she not want to go to jail, she trusted Olivia's opinion on what her next steps should be. She didn't want Nicolas to see her locked up in a jail cell, either. 'I'll call the social worker right now.'

'I knew you'd see it my way.' she smiled and slid the phone over to her.

* * *

That afternoon when Fitz went to go pick Nicolas up from school, he was in a bit of a sulky mood. Their argument coupled on with the things that the lawyer had told them earlier had really put him a bad place and he needed a way to decompress. He wanted to go the gym but he knew that'd be impossible now that he'd have Nicki with him.

When the lawyer suggested that they started spending their nights apart it made Fitz uneasy. It seemed like as soon as they were starting to get into a regular routine, somebody was taking it away from him. Excluding a few distant aunts and cousins, he hadn't had any family in a long time. Olivia and Nicolas were all he had that was worth anything so to see them being pulled away broke his heart.

He also didn't understand why Olivia seemed to be so against the idea of them getting married immediately. In his eyes it solved all of the problems they were having. What had Fitz even more afraid, though, was the thought that she might say no. Now that would be his downfall. All of this could have actually been for nothing and he didn't didn't he'd be able to recover from it.

Fitz tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind when he pulled up to Nicki's school. While most parents usually walked inside to pick up their kindergarteners, Nicolas had an escort walk him outside when Fitz picked him up. It was much easier to get in and get out rather than going through the main halls of the school and waiting for everybody to stop him for pictures and autographs.

He smiled when he saw Nicolas come out of the back door all bundled up in his winter attire and skipping towards the car. Fitz shivered a bit but got out and opened up the backseat door for him. He looked adorable with his coat pulled all the way up to his nose and his backpack, which was almost as big as he was, wobbling halfway on his back. His long hair had paint in it from whatever activity they had going on that day and his scarf was tied around his head while his hat was in his hands. While his fashion choice was a bit questionable it warmed Fitz's heart nonetheless.

'Uncle Fitz!' he hollered, nearly sliding on some ice that had accumulated on the concrete stairs. It seemed like he was unaffected by his near fall as he continued to run towards Fitz.

Fitz held his arms out for Nicolas who jumped into them, nearly climbing his way up his body so that he could hug his neck.

'Hey there, buddy.' he smiled and hugged him tight, almost unwilling to let go.

Before the two of them could get caught up in their little moment, Nicki's teacher came outside with a folder in her hands. She didn't plan on being outside long so she was only in a sweater and the skin on the tip of her nose was already turning red.

'It's very nice to see you again, Mr. Grant.' she commented, her teeth chattering a bit. Since she was a bit older the cool air felt like it had gone all the way down to her bones.

'Mrs. Farr.' Fitz smiled and slid Nicolas out of his arms so that he could shake the older woman's hand.

Mrs. Farr opened up the folder that she had in her hand so that Fitz could see the paper that she had inside of it. 'I had to fill out a behavior sheet for Nicolas today and I wanted to tell you in person what happened.'

Fitz raised his eyebrows. It was very unlike Nicolas to have any behavior problems so this was a shock. He watched as Mrs. Farr pulled out a sheet of paper with Nicki's grades on it. He knew that he wasn't doing so well in school so he wasn't very surprised by what he was seeing.

'I sent these home to be signed by a parent last week and at the bottom I see that he has clearly written it a name.' she explained, pointing to the signature section.

Instead of Olivia's signature near the end of the paper, Nicolas had written 'Awnty Olivia' in pencil. Fitz was about to start laughing but he stopped himself when he saw the serious look on Mrs. Farr's face. He found it pretty comical that he would try and forge anybody's name and it made it even funnier that he did such a bad job of it.

'We take things like this very seriously, Mr. Grant. Academic integrity is important; even at a young age.' she insisted before handing him the folder.

'I understand.' he nodded his head. 'Olivia and I will have a conversation with him tonight and we will look over his grades.'

'Excellent.' she smiled as much as she could under her cold circumstances and patted the top of Nicolas' head before heading back inside the building to tend to the other children.

Fitz rolled his eyes and picked Nicolas up so that he could put him in the car and buckle him in. He understood what he did was wrong but he didn't get why was making such a big deal out of it. He was just a little kid and didn't know any better.

Once he was sure that Nicki was strapped in tight, Fitz shut his door and got into the driver's seat. He thought about stopping and getting them something to eat but decided not to. It was a miracle that he was able to get his seatbelt on right the first time and he didn't want to press his luck. Besides that Olivia had been a little annoyed with the messy state of the kitchen the day before and he had promised to cook today.

'Can I play a game on your phone, Uncle Fitz?' Nicki asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Fitz was just about to hand off his cellphone but he stopped himself. He glanced in the rearview mirror so that he could see him while he spoke. 'Let's talk about what happened at school today. Why did you try and write Auntie Olivia's name on your grades?'

''Cause I didn't want her to see them and get mad.' his bottom lip poked out and he sat back in his booster seat. He attempted to fold his arms across his chest but his bubble coat was mostly in the way.

'That's not a good reason, Nicki. Sometimes you have to do things that are hard. Even if Auntie Olivia would've been mad it was still the right thing to do.' he explained gently. 'Did you know what you did was wrong?'

'Yes.' he admitted. 'But you can't tell Auntie 'cause then I'm going to get in trouble.'

Fitz's eyebrows furrowed as he turned his attention back to the road. Over the past few months Nicki had learned that he could just about get away with murder when he was with Fitz. He never punished him or made any effort towards discipline which is why he was the 'fun uncle' to be around.

It wasn't until right then that Fitz realized what Olivia meant when she started going on about how Nicolas saw him as just another friend or playmate. He had been way too busy trying to make sure that Nicki liked him instead of respecting him.

'You're still going to be in trouble, Nicolas.' he said although it felt a little weird coming out of his mouth. 'When we get home you need to go straight to your room. No tv or toys for the rest of the night.'

Nicolas giggled on the backseat, not taking him serious at all. He just knew that he'd lose all his resolve when they finally made it home and things would go back to normal. It made Fitz a little upset that he didn't seem to care about the punishment he had just given but he knew it was his own fault.

Once they made it back to the house, Nicolas ran straight through the back door and plopped himself in front of the television and turned it on. Fitz had been putting away their coats and boots when he found Nicolas in the living room and he sighed. He used the remote on the coffee table to turn the television off.

'Nicolas,' he said cooly. 'go to your room.'

'But, why?' he groaned, clearly testing him.

'Because you're on punishment.' he explained. Fitz took Nicolas' arm and stood him up so that he could walk him down the hall.

Nicolas made his entire body go limp and fell to the floor. 'I don't want to goo!' he whined loudly.

'Get up, Nicolas.' Fitz reprimanded before finally just picking him.

When Fitz started walking towards Nicki's bedroom he began to kick and scream in an attempt to get away. He made loud crying noises and tears began to stream down his eyes and his little cheeks began to turn red. It was very rare that he threw a temper tantrum but he'd try anything today. Fitz was about to just give in and let him go but he held his ground and carried him into his bedroom.

Nicki continued to cry as he was laid on his bed and Fitz had to look away. Sometimes it was hard not to just give in to what he wanted but he knew it was for the best. He kneeled down to Nicolas' level and held his hands as he spoke.

'I'm going to come back and get you in a little while but you need to sit in here. Do you understand me?' Fitz said as calmly as possible.

'Yes.' he nodded his head although he was still crying and his nose was now running

* * *

Olivia made it home a bit earlier than usual today but she couldn't handle anymore. She had a million things going through her mind and all she wanted to do at that point was rest. She had intended on going back to her apartment that night but she was way too tired to move any of their things or to argue with Fitz about it.

After Tanya admitted to the social worker that she had lied about Fitz touching Nicolas they decided to halt any further investigation on him. It would've been absolute PR disaster for the Nationals so she was glad that it hadn't made it that far. The rest of their time together was spent looking at colleges in the area where their parents lived and trying to figure out a way to get all of her things moved. Olivia had missed her remaining appointments for the day but she knew she needed to prioritize this.

The next thing that she needed to do was get Tanya to sign away her parents rights. Olivia knew that this would be tough for her but she had also convinced her sister that it was for the best. Nicolas usually slept in the spare bedroom in her apartment but she would have to convert it into something a bit more kid friendly if he was going to be there permanently.

Once she parked her car in the garage Olivia grabbed her purse from the trunk and made her way inside. She was a little surprised when she didn't find Fitz and Nicolas in the kitchen either making a mess or in the living room playing around. She dropped her purse off on the dining room table and immediately came out of her heels so that she could rest her feet.

Instead of looking any further for them she stopped and poured herself a glass of wine. There was already food cooking in the oven but she assumed that the staff had been by to put it on. She turned the oven down just a bit then walked through the house to look for the boys. Olivia wasn't in the mood to continue her argument with Fitz but Nicki would serve as a well deserved distraction. She was one step closer to finally having him with her permanently and ll she wanted to do was kiss his little face.

Olivia walked down the hall and smiled when she heard voices coming from Fitz's office that was rarely ever used. The door was cracked so she slowly poked her head it to see what they were doing. Nicki was sitting on the floor surrounded by pieces of paper while Fitz called out his spelling words to him. He had a test later on that week that he really needed to good on. Since they were playing catch up the rest of the year would be an uphill battle for them.

'The next word is sea, Nicolas.' Fitz said, peering from the tops of his reading glasses that his doctor had been nagging him to wear.

'What kinda sea, uncle Fitz?' he asked curiously. 'Is it the see like "I see something" or is it the sea like where the fishes live?' Nicki tapped his little pencil against his bottom lip, a habit he had picked up from Olivia. They both did it when they were in deep thought.

'Where the fishes live.' he answered and sucked his cheeks in to make a face like a fishes which made Nicolas giggle.

'You're not a fish, Uncle Fitz.' he reprimanded playfully. 'I know how to spell this one. Its S-E-A!' Nicolas yelled before writing it down in big letters.

'Good job!' he praised. 'But don't say it out loud on the test, okay buddy? We don't want anybody saying that you're cheating or sharing answers.'

'But why can't I share my answers with everybody?' he asked with his head cocked. ''Cause if I have the right answer then everybody else can too and then we can all get gold starts on our tests.'

'Everybody has to study and know the answers for themselves, Nicolas.' Fitz explained gently. 'It's not fair if you give them the answers because they need to learn for themselves. You won't always be there to help them.'

'Oh.' he huffed and held his face in his hands, still not seeing much logic in his uncle's answers.

Olivia lightly knocked on the door and smiled as she took a step in. Neither of them heard her come in and they definitely hadn't been expecting her that early so both of their faces lit up. Nicolas hopped up from his place on the floor and ran over to her and hugged her legs tightly, burying his face in her thighs just as he normally did when he saw her. That is, unless he was shooting her with darts.

'Aunty! How come you're home so early?' he asked, looking up at her with his big brown eyes and his chin dug into her hip.

'I wanted to come home and see my favorite Nicki and my favorite Uncle Fitz!' she grinned and wrapped her arms around his body.

'Nicolas has something to tell you, Liv.' Fitz said from his seat.

'Oh, really?' her eyebrows raised. 'What you got little dude?'

Nicki sighed. 'I got in trouble today at school.'

'What?' she frowned. 'Why'd you get in trouble?'

''Cause I wrote your name down for something when I shouldn't have. Uncle Fitz says I can't play with my toys or watch tv tonight when I get done with my homework.' his bottom lip poked out.

'Really?' she asked, shocked. Fitz typically wasn't good with the discipling part of parenting which usually left her as being the bad guy. 'Well, then you have to do what he says. Can you go to the dining room and get ready for dinner?'

'Can I bring Jenkins to the table with me?' he asked hopefully.

'Nicolas, do not bring the dog into the kitchen.' she said with finality before sending him off.

Fitz stood to his feet and rolled up the sleeves on his sweater as he approached her. When he was just a couple of steps away he smiled and kissed her forehead and took her hand that wasn't holding onto her glass of wine. 'Welcome home.'

'Thank you.' she smiled lightly.

'I was thinking about some of the things you said earlier, and you were right.' he leaned back on his desk. 'I can't always just be best friends with Nicolas.'

'What made you come to this decision?' she asked, cocking her head.

'Today when I asked Nicolas about what happened in school, he asked me not to tell you when you got home.' his brows furrowed. 'He didn't even care that I knew. He doesn't respect me at all. He threw the worst tantrum today when we made it back home.'

'Aw, baby.' she hummed sympathetically. 'Nicolas respects you.'

'No, he doesnt.' Fitz shook his head. 'And, that's not fair to you. We're supposed to be a team, and I think I may have dropped the ball a bit on this one.'

'It's alright. We're both still learning. I never thought that it would be easy.' she smiled and leaned in to kiss him. 'I have other great news.'

'What's that?' he asked.

'Tanya came by my office today and she agreed to sign over her parental rights to me.' she said, her smile growing even wider.

'What?' his face lit up. 'Olivia are you serious?'

'Yes!' she laughed and nodded.

'What made her change her mind?' he took the wine out of her hands and set it on top of the wood of his desk and grabbed both of her hands.

'She tried to go behind our backs and talk to the social worker. She told the lady that you had been touching Nicolas and—'

'Woah.' he interrupted her, holding his hands up to get her to stop rambling. 'Are you serious? I would never—'

Olivia held her hand up to stop Fitz from continuing on. Whatever his explanation was wasn't going to nearly exciting as what she had to say. 'She did, but, listen to me!' she hissed. 'She felt so guilty about it that she came to me. We called the social worker right then and she told the truth! They're going to throw the case out!'

Fitz felt like his head was spinning as he took in everything that Olivia said but the look of excitement on her face prompted even him to smile again. 'So, what's going to happen now?'

'I'm going to quietly send Tanya away back to our parents house and she's going to go back to school. This is going to push her out of our hair for at the very least 4-5 years.' she grinned even wider that before, her lips almost touching her ears.

'How did you convince her to do all this so fast?'

'I told her that if she didn't then we were going to sue her for defamation of character and that our lawyer would absolutely destroy her. She gave up after that!' she squeezed down excitedly on his hands.

Fitz laughed and grabbed her by her waist and hoisted her up in the air, kissing her lips as he brought her back down. 'You are such a genius!'

Nicolas ran back to the office when he heard them laughing and talking but was extremely disappointed with what he found. He groaned loudly. 'Stop kissing!'

Olivia chuckled as her feet touched the floor again. She immediately turned her sights on Nicolas and picked him up in her arms and began to cover his face with kisses. Fitz wrapped his arms around both of them so that Nicki couldn't wiggle his way out of her arms.

'Stop! Stop! I don't want your kisses!' he screamed as they squeezed them even tighter.

Their family was one step closer to being complete.

* * *

Nicolas went to bed fairly easy that night which left Olivia and Fitz was so much needed alone time. He was in the shower when he heard her rustling around in the bedroom. Nicki was insisted that she be the one to put him to sleep so after reading him a story, she was able to relax a bit.

Olivia stripped out of her clothes, putting her bottoms and silk top in a separate hamper. The staff would come and take those to the dry cleaners for her at the end of the week. In the back of her mind she was still thinking about the fact that she and Nicki would still need to return to her home for a little while. Even though Tanya had agreed to sign Nicolas over to her, the social worker would still be working with them every step of the way.

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind for now. They had won a major battle in their quest to obtaining full custody and they deserved a night of happiness. Olivia put her bra and panties away and then walked into the bathroom. It was already full of steam and smelled like the body wash that Fitz used. The mirror was fogged up but she could see enough to be able to pin her hair up into a bun.

Fitz slid the door of the shower open and poked his head out. 'Could you hurry up?'

'Who said I was showering with you?' she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

'It would save water.' he suggested coyly. 'Don't you want to help the environment?'

Olivia chuckled at his very poor excuse, but decided to join him. She walked over to the shower and opened it enough so that she could get in with him. It was fairly big and they didn't need to be close together, but Fitz was immediately in her personal space. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him as they water ran over her breasts.

She turned her neck so that she could look at him. 'Should we talk? Are we okay?' Olivia asked, searching his eyes with her own. Their conversation from this morning seemed like a distant memory at this point, but she still wanted to bring it up.

Fitz shook his head. 'Talk later. We need to celebrate.'

'How are we celebrating?' she asked with her eyebrows raised and a coy smile on her face.

He grinned and reached for her body wash that had been stored away on one of the shelves in the shower. Fitz popped open the top and then turned it upside down, spilling its contents on her breasts as she watched. His hands immediately went towards her breasts and worked on massaging the soap in as he played with her nipples.

Olivia's breath hitched but she reached behind her until she got her hands in between their wet bodies. She grabbed his manhood and pumped her hand up and down, jacking him off while he continued to watch the way her breasts moved underneath the water of the shower. She eventually turned around kissed him and he backed her into the wall.

He grabbed the back of her neck as their kisses went from light and somewhat playful to something they were a bit more used to. Heated and tense. Olivia couldn't help but smile as she felt his penis harden in her hand. His balls were pressed against her stomach as her thumb circled around his tip and worked to spread his precum down his shaft.

She went down on her knees a couple a minutes later before Fitz could stop her. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy receiving head from Olivia, but he never wanted her to feel like she was obligated to. He was going to object until she licked his sac and sucked on of his testicles into her mouth. One of his hands pressed against the wall of the shower while the other entangled in her hair, nearly ruining the bun she had put up just minutes before.

Fitz spread his legs out wider and looked down at her, watching as she kissed and licked all the way up his shaft. Olivia swirled her tongue around his tip a few times before sliding her down his throat. One of her hands worked back and fourth as she bobbed her head while the other fondled his balls. He groaned as his thrusted forward, forcing her to take more of him in his mouth. He was sure to keep his fingers behind her head to make sure that she wouldn't bump it against the hard wall behind her.

The steaming water continued to hit against Fitz's back as she began to quicken her pace. He found himself eventually holding her head still as he pushed himself in and out of her mouth. When he felt a familiar warmth began to spread all across his dick, he knew he needed to slow down. He pulled himself out of Olivia's mouth and pulled her up by her shoulders.

'Baby,' she murmured in complaint as her hands went directly back to rubbing him. 'I want to finish you off.'

'Later.' he said, shushing her with an open mouthed kiss.

He pushed her hands away and grabbed hold of her hips, his fingers flexing and squeezing into her soft flesh. Fitz turned her so that she could face up against the door of the shower and then pushed her into the glass. Olivia turned her neck although she still couldn't see him. She pushed her hips back and began to slowly grind her ass against his manhood. He hissed lowly and tried his best to make her stay still. He had plans for her and they weren't going to work if she kept doing that.

Fitz kissed down the side of her neck as he slowly kneaded her her thighs and then began to move in closer. He parted her legs just enough so that he could get his fingers to her waiting heat. She gasped softly as he parted her lower lips, his digits running up and down her slit and occasionally tapping on her clit. One of her hands found the back of Fitz's head, bringing him closer so that she could kiss him as he pleasured her. He swallowed all of her moans as he teased her.

Once she had gotten wet enough, Fitz pulled his hand away. She huffed in complaint, but she knew exactly what he was up to. He licked his fingers that were now coated in her essence and began to kiss down her body. Once he was on his knees behind her, he palmed both of her plump cheeks and slowly pulled them apart. His cock twitched at the sight of his Livvie so open and bare before him but he tried to hold in his need for her.

He went directly to get glistening labia, licking and sucking as she moaned and braced herself against the shower wall. Fitz kept one of his hands planted on her ass while the other wrapped around her thigh to keep her still. His tongue traveled up to her clit, circling it repeatedly until it was swollen with arousal. He drew the nub into his mouth and flicked his tongue over it.

Olivia's eyes rolled as all the nerves over her body seemed to ignite at once. Her legs began to shake lightly as her body became readjusted to receiving this type of attention. It had been four whole days since the last time they had made love and it was obvious by the way she was reacting. She squeaked loudly when Fitz sucked her clit into the roof of his mouth, and she raised on the tips of her toes to get away.

Fitz slapped her bottom hard. 'Don't move, Olivia.'

' _Fuck_.' she hissed as Fitz nuzzled his entire face into her womanhood. 'Yes, sir.'

He ate her as if he was a man starved for nutrients until her entire body began to tremble and she orgasmed. She screamed loudly, her hand smacking against the shower wall as she tried to keep her balance. Fitz raised up and stood to his feet, kissing the side of her face as she came down from her natural high.

Olivia raised up on the tips of her toes as she tried her best to brace herself once more. Fitz placed one hand on her shoulder and the other at the base of his cock. He stroked himself a few more times before finally sliding into her from behind. She hissed but pushed her hips back to take more of him in.

Once he was finally in far enough for his balls to press against her skin, Fitz took a deep breath. It had been way too long since he had been able to buried inside her and he made a note to never let that happen again. Her slick, tight walls were threatening to suck him back in as he pulled out. The hand that was on her shoulder moved to the column of her neck and he gently squeezed while his other one went to her hip.

Fitz lightly choked her as he pounded into her from behind. He couldn't see her facial expression at all, but he could tell by the way that she was moaning his name that she was enjoying it. His grip tightened a bit, but he wouldn't push her too far tonight. He really just wanted to test her limits out. Olivia pushed her hips back, meeting him thrust for thrust. She squeezed down on him as he glided against her g-spot over and over again.

He reached around her body until his fingers found her clit, and he rubbed firm circles over it. Fitz turned her head so that their lips could meet once more. The shower door began to shake as they repeatedly bumped into it. He was almost afraid that they'd break it tonight, but he'd worry about it when it happened. When Olivia stopped moving he opened his eyes to see that her body had grown limp against him.

She had never blacked out before during an orgasm, but the mixture of his hand around her neck and the feeling of the water streaming down her back brought it out of her tonight. It was almost as if she was having an out of body experience. She could still feel everything that was going on around her, but she just couldn't move. When Fitz slid his penis out of her entrance, she reached behind her and took his penis into her hand, working it back and fourth until he found his release as well.

Fitz grunted as his seed squirted on the back of her leg and thigh. He leaned in and kissed her shoulder before burying his face in the side of her neck. 'Are you okay? Did I hurt you?' he asked quietly.

Olivia shook her head. 'I'm fine, baby. I promise.'

The two of them stood there in that position for what seemed like hours. It was more like a few minutes, but they were just enjoying one another. Small kisses and nips were exchanged as they both came down from their orgasms and Fitz showered her body with attention. Olivia could tell that he was a bit worried, but she felt fine.

'Do you want to take a bath?' Fitz gently inquired, wrapped his arms around her waist.

'Yes.' she nodded and tilted her neck so that she could kiss his cheek.

Fitz let her go and slid the shower door open and walked over to the jacuzzi styled bathtub. He turned on the water while Olivia rinsed off with the shower water. Her legs hurt from standing on the tips of her toes for so long and she was more than ready to soak in the bathtub. He had ruined the neat bun on her head, but she readjusted it and prayed it wouldn't be too hard to manage in the morning.

Once the water was finished running, Fitz returned to the shower and opened the door. Olivia shut the water off and he took her hand as he helped her step out. She got into the tub first and then leaned forward so that he could get in behind her. Once he had settled, she laid on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder.

He grabbed one of the hand towels he had taken from the linen closet and gently rubbed it across Olivia's breasts and down to her abdomen. Fitz whispered a hushed string of 'I love you's as he washed her, and she just shut her eyes.

They could deal with everything else in the morning, but they'd celebrate tonight.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So here's chapter 5! This story will probably be coming to an end soon (it was supposed to only be a one shot anyway) and I want to say that I appreciate the you all for reading and sticking it out with me! I'm finishing this up on Thursday morning before Scandal so I hope that we all enjoyed the episode!_**

 ** _Until next time!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**NSFW**

* * *

The past couple of weeks had been pretty busy for everyone, but especially for Olivia. She had been orchestrating every part of their new plan, and Fitz was very proud of her. He could tell that it hurt to be letting her sister go like this, but he knew it was for the best. They both knew it.

He wanted to be there for her in every way that he could, but Fitz had always let her handle things with Tanya. As much as he couldn't stand her, he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Regardless of the situation, Olivia still really loved her sister. Fitz didn't want to try and get in the way of that.

Because of the dispute over Nicolas, Tanya had threatened to ruin everything Fitz had worked so hard for. To even think about going forward and accusing him of molesting Nicki made his blood boil. Sure he was glad she retracted her story before it hit the press, but things could have been a whole lot worse. He would never hurt Nicki, and it made him feel like a dirty old man to even be thought of that way.

Olivia had taken Tanya downtown earlier so that she could sign away her parental rights. It was a very emotional time for them both, but she knew she had to stay strong. If she showed any weakness then she might consider changing her mind. That was the last thing she needed.

Tanya had packed most of her things away into storage containers to take home, but she kept out some of her more heavier winter apparel. It was snowing that day in DC, so a bubble jacket, a pair of jeans, and boots were fairly appropriate. Olivia, on the other hand, wore a white peacoat and simple blue dress underneath. She had been missing days out of the office, but she always felt better when she looked her best.

Once their paperwork was all tucked away, Olivia was able to breath a sigh of relief that she had been holding in for years. Now there would be no more bouncing Nicki back and forth, no more worrying about whether he ate or made it to school or time, and no more sleepless nights wondering if he was okay. He'd be home with his family where she knew he was safe.

But, she didn't do a victory dance at the courthouse. She'd save it for later. For now, her main focus was getting back to her office with Tanya so that they could finish her school application. The community college she was applying to required some type of writing sample, and Tanya's wasn't very good. Olivia had taken the day off and agreed to help her with it.

Actually, Olivia hadn't been at work all week. Now that Christmas break was in full effect for the kids in the area, somebody had to stay at home with Nicki. Fitz couldn't take off due to his winter practice schedule, and she didn't think this was the right time to just force Nicolas on to a babysitter.

Instead, she stayed at home during the day and worked on her computer. She woke Nicolas up in time to eat breakfast and enjoy one morning cartoon, and then he had to get to work. Olivia hated that she had to make him focus on school during the holiday break, but things would be better next year. For now, they were playing catch up. They weren't even halfway done with the stack of papers he was supposed to have done before the end of the year.

Once Fitz made it home from practice, they would switch shifts. He would shower, and then work with Nicolas on his schoolwork. Olivia would go to Tanya's place and help her pack and get some of her business in order.

They had been working like a well-oiled machine, although that didn't leave a lot of time for just them. By the time Olivia would return that night, Fitz would be asleep. They only had enough time for a quick kiss before she left for the evening.

Fitz was very patient, though. Next week they'd be going on vacation, and he still planned on proposing while they were away. The ring had actually been burning a hole in his pocket. He was tempted to pull it out and show it to her every chance he got. He and Olivia always shared each other's secrets, and it felt weird hiding something so big from his best friend.

Olivia drove while Tanya sat on the passenger side, quietly looking out of the window. The ride wasn't going to be long, but the awkward silence between the sisters made it very tense. Before long, though, she heard Tanya sniffling.

'What's wrong, Tanya?' Olivia asked, glancing at her only briefly.

'Nothing's wrong.' she said, although there was clearly some attitude in her voice.

Her eyes rolled. 'Don't get catty with me. Just tell me what's going on.'

'How could you ask me that right now?' she wiped a tear from her face, although she was really trying to hold them all in. 'I just had to give my child up, Olivia. I know you wouldn't understand that.'

Olivia cut her eyes at her sister, but held her tongue. She knew stooping down and being petty wouldn't help the situation. 'You're right, Tanya. I don't understand what that's like. But, you're not losing your child.'

'Oh, I'm not "losing" my child— just handing him over to you.' she said sarcastically.

'Yes.' she nodded, only now realizing how bad it sounded. 'But, it's for his own good. He needs something stable while you try and get yourself together.'

'I know.' she sighed and dabbed another tear away. 'It'll just be four years and then I can find a job and we'll be together again.'

Olivia swallowed hard at that statement. She actually had no intention on handing Nicolas back over to her once she was done with school. When she didn't immediately respond or confirm what she was saying, Tanya cut her eyes at her sister.

'You do plan on giving me my rights back after I prove myself, right?' she questioned.

She took a few seconds to answer the question. 'If you can get a home and steady job then, yes, I will sign your rights back over to you. And Nicolas has to agree.'

'In 4 years Nicolas will be nine.' she scoffed. 'How can he decide who he wants to stay with?'

'Easily.' Olivia snapped back. 'I don't want to have this discussion right now, Tanya. You haven't even left yet and you're already trying to start an argument with me.'

'I'm not trying to argue.' Tanya sighed and looked out of the window once more. 'You just don't understand, Liv. You never will until you have kids of your own.'

Olivia felt something in her gut turn, and she immediately felt bad for Tanya. But, she stayed strong. She knew her sister very well, and one of her tactics was to play the victim in situations like these. She knew she had to think about Nicki and his well being, and not her sister's feelings.

After dropping Tanya off at her now almost empty apartment, Olivia went straight home. It was pretty late so she knew that Fitz and Nicki would have been asleep by then. There were leftovers in the refrigerator and she had been thinking about them all day long.

Olivia parked her car in the garage then immediately came in through the back door. All the lights were off in the kitchen, but she could see two dimly lit candles on the table. They both looked like they had been burning for hours, and the wax had almost completely melted.

She curiously flipped the light switch on. Sitting beside the candles were two untouched meals, and she could tell that Fitz had made them himself. The chicken looked a bit overcooked, and the vegetables seemed pretty raw upon further inspection. But, she could tell that he did his best.

Olivia kicked her heels off by the counter and continued her way through the house. The lights in the living room were already on, and that's where she found Fitz. He had obviously fallen asleep watching the game on tv, and was now laid out across the couch. He was dressed in his favorite black suit, and had a single rose resting on his chest.

She chuckled as she made her way over to him. Olivia gently moved on top of his body, straddling his hips but not putting any weight down. The material of her dress rose as she settled herself, coming up to her hips as she spread her thighs. She shook his shoulders in an attempt to rouse him, and his eyes began to flutter.

Fitz immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes. 'Oh shit.' he murmured. 'Did I fall asleep?'

'You did.' Olivia smirked. 'But, I don't think you've been out long. The candles are still burning.'

'Aw, man.' he huffed. 'I wanted to surprise you. Would it kill you to come through the front door every now and then?'

'You told me not to come through the front door at night just in case somebody tried to grab me.' she teasingly reminded him.

'How often do you listen to me?'

'Not very often.' she giggled and leaned in to kiss him softly. 'I'm sorry, baby. Next time you try and surprise me, I promise to be surprised.'

'You better be.' he smacked her bottom hard, causing her to yelp against his lips. 'How was your day sunshine?'

Fitz pulled away far enough to see Olivia's face. He knew today was the day Tanya was supposed to be signing over her parental rights, and he had a feeling it would be tough for both of them. With gentle hands, he massaged the small of her back.

'Tanya was very upset once we left the office today.' Olivia explained, leaning into Fitz's hands. 'She seems to believe that I'm trying to steal Nicki away from her. She said that once she's done with school and gets a job, she would like for me to sign him back over to her.'

Fitz's eyebrows furrowed. 'And what did you tell her?'

Her shoulders shrugged. 'I told her we would discuss it when the time comes. I said that we should leave it up to Nicolas. If he doesn't want to stay with his mom, then I don't want to make him.'

'Hmmm.' he simply nodded his head.

'Don't do that.' Olivia groaned. 'Why do you always do that?'

He chuckled. 'Do what?'

'Every time we start talking about Tanya, you get really quiet.' she sighed. 'I'm trying to get your input.'

'I don't want to cross any boundaries, Olivia.' he sat back against the arm of the couch. 'That's your sister, and I know you love her. Whatever you decide to do, I'll be with you 100%.'

'What if I promised not to be mad when you tell me your opinion?' Olivia prodded. 'Just let me know what you're thinking.'

Fitz touched his pointer finger to his chin as he tried to put his thoughts into words. 'I think that it's going to be very hard to let Nicolas go after we raise him for years. I can't comprehend just handing him over after fighting for him for so long.'

Olivia crossed her arms against her chest. 'I'm not planning on giving him back. I know it sounds selfish, but I just want you to know. Four years from now, even if I have to fight Tanya tooth and nail, I'm going to fight.'

He nodded his head thoughtfully, although still very determined not to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. 'And when the time comes, I'll be with you 100%.'

She sighed but smiled. 'That's enough. I don't want to talk about Tanya anymore. We should be spending time together.'

Fitz grinned widely when he heard that. 'And what exactly do you want to do this evening, Miss Pope?'

'Well, I saw all that dinner you made in the kitchen.' she ran her hands up and down his chest. 'Why don't we eat and then see where the night takes us?'

He blushed a bit, his smile slightly faltering. 'Okay, but I have to warn you that I kind of messed dinner up. I tried to follow the recipe, but the instructions must have been screwed up or something.'

Olivia nearly snorted. 'So it was the recipes fault, huh? It had nothing to do with the fact that you're a horrible chef?'

'Hey now, watch what you say.' Fitz poked his bottom lip out. 'I'm a great cook! I make dinner for Nicki all the time.'

'Putting nuggets in the oven and instant macaroni and cheese is not cooking.' she teased. 'That just lets me know that you know how to use a timer.'

'I'm not going to let you sit here and disrespect me like this.' he declared.

Fitz already had a pretty good grip on her waist, so he used this to his advantage. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her body. He pressed his face into the side of her neck and started placing small kisses across her flesh.

'What are you doing, Fitz?' she chuckled lightly as he moved further up her neck.

'I'm about to get my apology.' he murmured, lightly blowing his breath on her skin.

Slowly, Fitz used his tongue to make his way to the soft skin behind her ear. He lightly suckled on that spot, knowing how sensitive she could be. Olivia immediately moaned, no longer to hide the signs of her arousal.

'You need to stop.' Olivia insisted, although she wasn't doing much to deter him. 'What if Nicki gets out of bed to look for us?'

'Nicolas is at the movies with Abby. They won't be back until 8:30.' he replied, clearly very proud of his plan.

'You just think of everything, don't you?' she purred softly.

Fitz slowly moved his hands so that they could rest on her hips. He gripped them both tightly, and guided her to sit down in his lap. Olivia inhaled sharply, feeling his penis press against her thigh through her clothes. He grinded himself against her, letting her feel his now growing erection.

'You're not playing fair, Fitz.' Olivia softly moaned as she began to rock her hips back and forth. The column of her neck slightly tilted, and he used one hand to nudge her hair out of the way.

'I miss being inside you.' he whispered in her ear. It was enough to run a shiver down her spine. 'I can't wait to spread you out on the bed.'

'You can do it now.' she suggested, her eyes shutting tightly. Olivia's hands traveled down further, nudging themselves between their bodies. She was searching for the belt buckle on his pants, but Fitz was being a bit of a distraction.

'Tell me you're sorry first.' he bargained. Fitz grabbed both of her small hands in one of his to keep her still. 'Let me hear you.'

'You're so ridiculous.' Olivia chortled and shook her head.

'Humor me.' he said before sinking his teeth into the column of her neck.

'Shit.' she hissed. 'I'm sorry.'

'Mmm.' he hummed, satisfied with her apology. Fitz pulled away so that he could look her in her eyes. He cupped her face with both of his large hands and allowed one of his thumbs to run across her bottom lip.

Olivia took this as her chance to go after his zipper. She was able to quickly undo his silver belt buckle and then the clasp that held his pants up. Fitz raised his hips up a bit and they worked together to get his pants and boxers down below his knees. He used his feet to kick them off the rest of the way, while she worked on the buttons on his shirt.

Fitz's penis stood almost fully erect, but watching her was making him even harder. He licked his lips as her fingers lightly grazed over his chest as she got his top off. Olivia continued to grind herself against his crotch, and he could tell she was soaking through the cotton on her panties.

Before she could get to the last button, Fitz grew impatient. He grabbed the bottom of her dress and pushed it up above her ass. He fisted his cock and ran his hand up and down his shaft. 'I can't wait.'

Olivia simply nodded her head in understanding. It had been at least a week since they had sex, and the wait was unbearable. The only thing that was keeping her together was thinking about their vacation next week.

Fitz sat back so that he was leaning against the arm of the couch. He watched as Olivia lined herself up with his cock, then put one of her hands on his shoulder to help her keep her balance. She then reached between her legs and pushed the fabric of her panties to the side and began to slowly sit.

* * *

The rest of the week went by like a gust of wind. In the last few days Olivia had helped get Tanya into school, get her apartment packed up, and take care of whatever other odds and ends that needed to be done. It was now 6am, and her alarm had gone off loud enough to even wake up Fitz who had been sleeping on the other side.

Their trip was going to be pretty relaxed, so Olivia slept in her travel clothes. Since they'd just be in the car, she decided on a sweatshirt, a pair of black leggings, and a pair of comfy boots that were lined with fur. Her hair was already up in a ponytail, and the only thing left now was to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Olivia quietly tiptoed into the bathroom, not realizing that Fitz was now wide awake. She planned on telling him goodbye, but she wanted him to be able to sleep for as long as possible. He was going to be with Nicolas by himself for the entire weekend, and he needed every moment of rest he could get.

By the time she made it back into the bedroom, though, Fitz was sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes. He raised his arms into the air to stretch then proceeded to yawned loudly.

'Good morning, sunshine.' he murmured and scratched his side.

Olivia smiled, silently appreciating his exposed chest. 'Good morning. You're up early.'

'I wanted to kiss you goodbye.'

'I was going to get you up before I left.' Olivia explained before walking over to her suitcase. She unzipped the bag and slid her toothbrush inside. 'Tanya should be here soon.'

His eyebrows immediately raised. 'I thought you were picking her up from her place.'

'I was.' she nodded. 'But, she wanted to say goodbye to Nicki before she left. I couldn't take that away from her.'

Fitz eyed her warily, but nodded in agreement. He still didn't trust Tanya, he never had, and today was no different. She was always trying to pull some trick to try and get out of her obligations.

'It's okay, Fitz.' Olivia assured. After grabbing her hairbrush off of the dresser, she went to the closet to grab her luggage.

The area was usually kept pretty clean by the maid that Fitz had come in, but today was different. Not only had Olivia been packing to go see her parents, she and Fitz had also been getting ready for their vacation. They'd be leaving as soon as she returned from dropping Tanya off, and she knew she didn't want the stress of having to come home and pack again.

'Do you have everything?' Fitz inquired gently as he watched Olivia pack up for her trip. He wanted to quickly change the subject off of her sister.

When Olivia didn't respond, Fitz got out of bed. He had on nothing but a pair of soft cotton boxers, and the cool air made him shiver a bit. He tiptoed into the closet, the sound of his footsteps covered by the plush carpet, and came up behind her.

Fitz wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his body against hers. He kissed her cheek softly, rocking her back and forth. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could say to her to make her feel better about her situation, but he wanted her to know that he was with her every step of the way.

Her breath hitched as she realized that Fitz was there. She placed her hands on top of his, simply appreciating his touch. Olivia shut her eyes and leaned against his chest, temporarily shifting the weight of her shoulders onto him.

'Are you all packed?' he asked again, this time knowing that she could hear him.

'I think so.' Olivia nodded. 'I still have a few things back at home, so if I'm missing something then it'll be okay.'

'How do you feel?' he continued to pry, hoping to get more than just a few sentences out of her.

She sighed, her eyes slowly opening once more. 'I don't know how to feel, Fitz.'

He nodded his head, although he definitely didn't understand what the problem was. Olivia had been trying to get custody of Nicolas since before they met, so this felt like a victory to him.

Fitz turned her around so that they were facing one another. He kissed her forehead and allowed his lips to linger there. 'I love you, sunshine.'

Olivia nodded her head. 'I love you, too.'

Their moment of peace was soon interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Olivia gently lifted her head, already knowing that it was Tanya at the door and it was almost time for her to go. Before she could walk away, though, Fitz cupped her face into his large hands. He carefully ran his thumb over her lip before kissing her once more.

The doorbell rang again, but they were both way caught up in the moment. The only thing that was able to push them apart was Jenkins running into the room. The deal was that Fitz was supposed to put his dog in the kennel at night, but he had obviously forgotten.

Jenkins barked as he trotted into the closet to get Fitz's attention. He nudged his head in between their bodies, nipping at his thigh to try and push him away from Olivia.

'We are going to have to have a long talk about Jenkins when I get back.' her eyes rolled as she grabbed her suitcase and extended the handle.

'Aw, Liv.' his bottom lip poked out. 'He just wants me to see who's at the door. He's excited.'

Her eyebrows raised. 'You're getting the door?'

'Yes.' he nodded. 'What's wrong?'

Olivia looked him up and down before heading over to the dirty laundry hamper in the closet. He had a pair of sweatpants sitting on top with a spaghetti stain near the top. She tossed them over to him.

'At least put on some pants.' she gestured down to his boxers.

Fitz glanced down at his bare thighs and then chuckled. 'You're right. I wasn't even thinking.'

Olivia shook her head at him. She ruffled his hair a bit as she walked out of bedroom and headed down the hall. Her first plan was to already have Nicki up by the time his Tanya made it, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. 6am was already very early, and she knew how cranky he could be.

Coming right at her heels was Fitz. He had a shirt on the bed so he threw it over his head as they walked to get the door. The maid had been by the day before, so everything looked very clean and tidy. Olivia knew it was going to be very different by the time she got back. Fitz and Nicolas together for the whole weekend meant indoor football games, homemade slime in the carpets, and dirt on the walls.

Olivia made it to the door first, and she was sure to peep out of the hole before unlocking it. As soon as it was open, a gust of cold winds flooded the room, causing both she and Fitz to shiver. Tanya stood on the other side in her coat and a pair of jeans.

'Hey, Liv.' she said, not even looking at Fitz to acknowledge him yet. 'Can I have the keys to your car? The Uber driver is going to pack my stuff in the trunk.'

'Sure, Tanya.' she nodded and stepped to the side. 'Come in. I left them in the bedroom.'

Tanya stepped through the threshold, and it was obvious that the situation was very awkward for all those involved. She had never really been in the house, but she knew it was nice. It had to be nice. Fitz was a famous baseball player, she knew he had the money to cater to every one of Olivia's desires. She was kind of jealous of her older sister.

Olivia jogged down the hall to the bedroom, leaving Tanya and Fitz in the living room alone. Fitz sat down on the couch, while Tanya stood awkwardly near the door. After a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat.

'This is um.. This is a really nice place you have here, Fitz.' she said, trying to break up some of the tension.

Fitz nodded his head. 'Thank you.'

'And I just wanted to say that um..' she bit down on her lip, nervous to say the rest of her sentence. 'Um. I'm sorry for what I did. What I almost did. That wasn't right of me and-'

He immediately held his hand up, a signal for her to stop talking. 'I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to think about it. You're forgiven, and please never bring it up again.'

Tanya swallowed hard, but then nodded her head. Luckily for her, Olivia returned moments later with her keys in her hand. She opened up the door so that she could pop the trunk, and the Uber driver immediately gave her a thumbs up and began to load the car.

'So, you ready to get out of here, Tanya?' Olivia asked, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Tanya nodded. 'Ya. I just.. I just want to kiss Nicolas goodbye.'

Olivia took a step to the side then gestured towards the hallway. 'His room is the first door on the right. He's still asleep, but I'm sure he'd be happy to see you.'

'Did you tell him I was leaving?' she nervously questioned. 'Does he know anything?'

'No.' she shook her head. 'All he knows is that he's going to be living with us from now on.'

'Only for a while.' Tanya immediately corrected. 'As soon as I get on my feet, I'll be ready to take him back.'

Wanting to avoid an argument, Olivia decided not to address her statement. They still had a while before that happened, and their focus needed to be on what was going on today. Her lips curled up into a small smile and she nearly gritted her teeth. 'Let's just get our goodbyes out of the way then get ready to go.'

She cut her eyes at Olivia, but agreed. She walked down the hallway and towards what had become Nicolas' room. She liked this place for her son. The house was big so he had enough room to run around in, and it was in a really nice area so she knew he'd be safe.

Tanya always believed that Olivia and Fitz had just given Nicki one of the spare guestrooms, but it soon became obvious that she was wrong. The walls were painted red, his current favorite color, and one of them had a massive chalkboard for him to draw on. There was a basketball hoop, a huge toy box, a bookshelf, and his little Jeep was parked beside his racecar bed.

Olivia and Fitz followed behind Tanya, but waited in the doorway so that they could have their moment. Nicki had fallen asleep in only a pair of boxers, and he had kicked the covers off of his body. Olivia had braided his long hair into two braids so that they'd be out of his face, and he had a strange blue substance around his mouth.

Nicki had woken up in the middle of the night to look for a snack, and Uncle Fitz couldn't resist him when he asked for a cupcake. It was almost _impossible_.

Tanya lightly shook his shoulders. 'Nicki, wake up.'

Nicolas yawned and swatted her hand away. He was about to roll over, but Tanya grabbed him. 'Can you give me a hug before I go?'

Nicki groaned and rubbed his eyes. 'Am I dreaming?'

Tanya chuckled. 'No, you're not dreaming. I know it's really early.'

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he tried to focus on his surroundings. 'How come you're in my room?'

'I wanted to tell you goodbye. I'm going to be gone for a while.' Tanya explained.

His nose immediately crinkled. Nicolas had very mixed emotions about his mother. Despite Olivia reassuring him, he didn't feel like Tanya loved him at all. He was ecstatic once he heard he'd be staying with Olivia and Fitz from now on.

'Bye.' he said, waving his hand.

Tanya smirked, assuming his behavior was because it was so early in the morning. 'Can mommy get a hug?'

Nicki's face scrunched up even further, but he nodded his head. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Tanya's neck for a few moments, but then pulled away. 'Where are you going?'

'I'm going to go stay with grandma and grandpa for a while.'

'Oh.' Nicki nodded his head. 'I love grandma and grandpa.'

She smiled brightly. 'Maybe you can come visit us some time. I'd love to see you.'

'Okay, but I have to ask Auntie Olivia first. She has to drive me there.'

Her mouth twitched a bit. 'You can visit anytime you want. I can come back and get you.'

He shook his head. 'Grandma and grandpa live very far away. I remember because I went there to see them at Christmas one time.'

'Well, you can call me whenever you want.' she offered. 'I'll always answer no matter what.'

The last part of her statement made Olivia roll her eyes. Tanya hardly ever answered the phone unless she wanted something. She doubted that this move would make her change.

'I don't have your phone number.' he cocked his head to the side.

'Auntie Olivia has my phone number.' she touched the top of his head, ruffling his hair a bit.

'Okay, well I'll see you next time.' he said, laying back down in his bed.

Tanya gave him a tight lipped smile. She thought he'd be more upset to see her leaving, but she tried not to dwell on it. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. 'I'll be seeing you very soon. I love you.'

 _That_ caught Nicki's attention. He couldn't remember the last time his mother showed him any type of affection. He hesitated, but he eventually was able to stammer out his response. 'I love you, too.'

She smiled and stood up from the bed. Tanya followed Olivia and Fitz back towards the living room so that they could leave. Liv sent a quick text to their parents to let them know they were on their way, then they got in the car. The trip had just begun, and she was already ready to get it over with.

They arrived in Delaware about 2 hours later. Their parents had recently made the move further from DC, stating it was always their dream to retire in the area. Olivia wasn't so sure what they found appealing about the area, but they seemed to be happy and enjoying their time.

The move came at the perfect time, too. Delaware was far enough to cut off most of Tanya's ties to the area. She was in a new place where she didn't know anyone, so she didn't have as many bad influences around. They were in a small town where nothing really happened, so Olivia hoped she would just go to school and then come home and study.

Unlike the DC area, it hadn't started snowing in Lincoln. It was still fairly cold, though, so the girls both bundled up in their jackets. The moving trucks had already been by earlier that week, and had dropped boxes off in what was going to be Tanya's new room.

Olivia turned the car off and pushed her keys down in her coat pocket. She had a wool cap on the backseat so she grabbed it and covered her head. The last thing she wanted to do was get sick before her actual vacation even started.

'Ready?' she asked, glancing over at Tanya.

'Do I have another choice?' she sighed, now staring out of the window.

The main reason she had ran away from home was because of her parent's controlling rules. She wanted to be in the bigger city where there were things to do. So far, she had only seen a Wal Mart and a small mall near the house, so this would definitely be an adjustment.

'Not really.' Olivia chuckled humorlessly. She reached out to touch Tanya's shoulder. 'I know it seems tough now, but it'll all be worth it. We have to make sacrifices to better ourselves, Tanya. You don't think I got to where I am without working hard, do you?'

'That's different, Liv.' she swatted her hand away. 'Mom and dad didn't try and keep you locked up all the time.'

'Because they trusted me.' Olivia said in a matter of fact tone. 'You used every opportunity you had and squandered them. They were trying to protect you, not hurt you. Mom and dad should be enjoying their retirement right now, but they've committed to helping you get through school. You should be grateful.'

'I just don't want them treating me like some kid.'

'Well, then don't act like a kid.' Olivia sassed back before getting out of the car.

Tanya followed behind her, dragging her feet a bit. In all honesty, she was very nervous. She hadn't seen her parents in years, and they definitely haven't had a conversation during that time. Olivia rang the doorbell, then glanced back at her sister.

'What is wrong with you?' she cut her eyes at Tanya.

She didn't know what it was, but their parents made Tanya very nervous. She was now staring down at her hands and fidgeting as they waited for them to answer the door. She was usually very strong and confident, even if what she was doing was wrong, so to see her this way shocked Olivia.

'I'm just nervous about seeing mom again.' she breathed heavily.

'She's your mom, Tanya. She loves you. Try and calm down.' she urged.

Moments later the door flung open, nearly knocking Olivia out. Eli Pope, their father, was on the other side with the biggest grin on his face. He was wearing a black turtleneck, and a pair of khaki slacks. He rarely took a day off from dressing nice, even if he was just going to be at home.

'Oh my God.' he said, opening his arms out wide. 'My girls are home. My two favorite girls in the world.'

Olivia smiled back and hugged Eli without hesitation. 'It's so good to see you, dad.'

Tanya hung back, trying to let them have their moment. Eli urged her to come forward. 'Come closer, Tanya. I need my hug from you, too.'

She swallowed hard, but nodded. Eli wrapped them both in a tight hug, nearly choking them. 'This is one of the happiest days of my life.'

'Eli, let those girls in the house!' Maya called from one of the back rooms. 'It's cold out there!'

'Oh right, sorry.' he immediately released them and then stepped to the side.

The house itself wasn't anything too special, but it was home to them. All around were older family portraits, pictures of Olivia and Tanya, and even a couple of Nicki. She had to assume that Olivia had been sending them, because she sure hadn't.

'I'm in here, babies!' Maya called from the kitchen.

Olivia inhaled deeply then nudged Tanya. 'Recognize that smell, Tanya?'

Her nose crinkled up a bit as she tried to recall. 'Is that mom's soup?'

'It sure is.' Eli said, as he pushed them closer to the kitchen. 'It was your favorite, right Tanya? We wanted to do something special for your first time back home.'

'Wow.' she murmured. Despite Olivia assuring her, she didn't think their parents would be so welcoming. Things seemed to be going well so far.

Maya was standing over of the counters and chopping up a few vegetables. She hadn't changed much since Tanya saw her last, but there were some differences. Her hair was a little greyer, a few wrinkles now framed her face, and she had definitely lost weight, She was wearing a plain pair of black leggings, and a tanktop, but had a sheer kimono on top.

She put her knife down and turned to them with a huge smile on her face. 'It's so good to have you girls back.'

Olivia came towards her first and gave her a hug. 'So nice to see you, mom.'

Maya kissed her forehead, and then shivered. 'Sweetheart, you must be freezing. Go take off that coat and those boots. There's some pajamas waiting for you in your bedroom.'

'Aw, you guys didn't have to do that.' she shook her head. 'I brought some luggage with some stuff and -'

'I don't want to hear another word about it, Olivia Carolyn.' she held her hand up to stop her. 'I don't want you catching a cold. Go change and I'll put us on some hot cocoa and we'll all retire to the living room.'

Olivia sighed but smiled. Sometimes she missed being at home and being spoiled. She kissed Maya's cheek, then headed towards the living room so that she could hang her things up in the coat closet.

Now, for the first time in years, Tanya was left alone in a room with both of her parents. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, wanting to make herself seem smaller. Deciding to bridge the gap, Maya went to give her a hug.

'I'm so happy you're home and safe here with us.' she said softly.

Tanya was uncertain at first, but she finally wrapped her arms around her mother in an embrace. Maya pulled away, but only to cup her cheeks and look over her face. 'Your skin is almost as cold as your sister's. I need to get that hot chocolate going quick.'

Eli made a few large strides towards the cabinet. 'I've got it, dear.'

Maya brushed her thumbs against Tanya's cheeks. 'Are you okay? Nobody hurt you, did they?'

She shook her head, feeling a little guilty for making her parents worry so much for all this time. 'No, nobody hurt me. I'm fine.'

The next few moments seemed to have happened in a flash. Tanya was shocked when one of Maya's hands met her face with slap. It didn't particularly hurt, but it definitely caught her off guard. She gasped and took a step back, now holding her face.

'I've been wanting to do that for years.' Maya mumbled, now shaking her hand a bit.

Olivia heard the slap from the other room, and came rushing back in. 'What happened?'

Eli brushed past Maya to reach Tanya. 'Sweetheart, are you okay?'

Tears began to well up in her eyes. 'She slapped me!'

'Maya, why would you do that?' Eli hissed, now trying to comfort Tanya as best as he could.

'Somebody had to.' she shrugged. 'Now, we can all start over.'

'This is why I didn't want to come home!' she huffed. 'You have no respect for me!'

'Lower your voice when you talk to me, Tanya.' Maya warned. 'You can pull that victim card shit on your daddy and your sister, but not on me.'

'You just slapped me!' she yelled. 'I _am_ the victim!'

'Alright everybody, let's just calm down.' Eli tried to reason.

Her eyes rolled. 'You always do this, dad. You always take her side, even if she's wrong! This is one of the main reasons I left!'

'No, you didn't.' Maya corrected. 'You left because you didn't like our rules. You left because you wanted to go out and party without consequences. You left because everybody around you had expectations, and you were too scare to try and live up to them. We're playing a new game this time.'

'You're crazy.' she said, still rubbing her face.

Maya scoffed. 'I barely even touched you. You left in the middle of the night without even leaving a note, and you took Nicki with you. It took us months to even figure out where you were! Do you know how worried we were? Now _that_ was a slap in the face!'

Tanya grew quiet at that. Eli sighed and shook his head. His wife was an unpredictable firecracker, although what was one of the things he loved most about her. 'Let's go upstairs Tanya and I'll look at your face.'

He nudged her towards the stairs, and she quietly complied. Olivia sighed and flopped down at the kitchen table. 'Mama-'

'I don't need a lecture, Olivia.' Maya immediately cut her off. 'Tanya's been doing nothing but causing havoc for years. I had to do it.'

'I know she's had some troubles.' Olivia said, clearly trying to downplay the situation. 'But, she's trying to turn over a new leaf. You can't just go around smacking her. She's not going to stick around if you're beating her up.'

'I promise I won't lay another finger on her.' she swore. 'But, I've really been itching to do that.'

Olivia sighed. She thought this would a simple overnight trip, but it looked like this would take more time than anticipated. 'I'm going to go change. We need to have mediation.'

'Whatever you say, Livvie.' she smiled and went back to cutting up her vegetables. 'Your room is the 3rd door on the left.'

Olivia rubbed her temples before making her way upstairs. She quickly found her room then shut the door behind her. She decided to take this opportunity to call Fitz and let him know they had made it safely.

He answered on the first ring, and Olivia put the phone on speaker and threw it down on the bed. 'Hey, you awake?'

'How could I sleep?' he mumbled lowly, although the raspiness in his voice let Olivia know he had just woken up. 'My sunshine is gone.'

Olivia chuckled. 'Whatever. You sound like you're laying down.'

'Because I'm missing you.' he countered. 'All I can do is lay in bed all day and eat icecream until you return. I can't even see straight.'

'You can't see straight because you're eyes are probably still closed.' she teased.

Fitz immediately opened both of his eyes. 'Not true. You take that back.'

'I'm not. _Punish me_.' she purred lowly.

'Olivia, don't do this right now.' Fitz groaned. 'I'll drive to Delaware right now.'

'You don't even have the address.' she chuckled.

'I can find it.' Fitz sat up in the bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes. 'I'm a very powerful man, you know? Some women would find that a turn on.'

'Not that powerful.' she quipped back. 'You're forgetting my father is ex CIA. Nothing around here is getting in unless he wants it to.'

'I'll just have to come up with a better plan.' he yawned and smiled. 'How's the trip been so far? Everything smooth?'

Olivia flopped down on the bed and pulled her shirt above her head, ready to put on the clothes that had already been set out. 'Things were great until we got here.'

'What happened?'

'My mom slapped Tanya in the kitchen and now she's crying.'

This definitely woke Fitz all the way up. He had to hold in his laughter because he, too, though Tanya needed a good slap to the face. 'Excuse me?'

'You heard me.' Olivia said as she threw on her clothes. 'It all happened so fast. I think my mom had a lot of pent up anger towards her. She says she's gotten it all out of her system now.'

'Remember how you said you wouldn't be upset if I said something about Tanya?' Fitz probed. 'I just have one little thing to say.'

Olivia nearly snorted. 'What is it?'

'I'm glad your mom slapped her.' he plainly stated. 'That's it. Nothing else.'

'Well, you better be hoping things go better from here on out.' she warned. 'If Tanya leaves then we might have another problem on our hands.'

He groaned. 'Why can't you let me celebrate the small things?'

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. Usually Olivia wouldn't let anyone speak bad about her family, but she didn't blame Fitz. Tanya threatened to ruin him and take away everything he had worked hard for.

'What do you two have planned for the day?' she asked, changing the subject.

'Nicolas and I are going to a monster truck rally in Virginia.' Fitz proudly stated.

Her nose crinkled. 'Gross. I'm so glad I won't be there for that.'

'I think we're going to have a great time.' he countered. 'I know one of the drivers and he's going to let Nicki ride in the truck after the show.'

'Fitz, that doesn't sound safe.'

'Trust me, Liv.' he smiled brightly. 'I got this.'

'Fitz I'm going to kill you if there's one hair missing from his head.' she threatened.

' _Oooo.'_ he grinned. 'I like when you get fiesty with me. Say something else.'

Olivia groaned. 'Goodbye. Be safe. I love you.' and with that, she hung up.

'I love you too, sunshine.' Fitz said, although he was now only speaking into the dial tone.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I won't even go into all the reasons this update is so late. Mixture of writer's block, and some things moving around in my life. One more chapter, then the epilogue and then we'll be saying goodbye to this story! I hope everyone enjoyed the update! I'll be working on my other stories now. As much as I joke and kid around, I appreciate you guys bugging me on Twitter and Tumblr and anywhere else you can find me. It reminds me I have people out there waiting for me to write, and it motivates me.**_

 _ **Also, I can't see the messages you guys send me if I don't log into the site through my computer. I'm sorry for all the ones I've missed. I'm not ignoring you, I just didn't see them. And, I'm sorry for any errors in this chapter. I was so excited to be writing again, I probably didn't proofread as much as I should. I hope you enjoyed anyway!**_


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